Daniel Yu, founder of African B2B e-commerce company Wasoko, has stepped away from a full-time role at the firm, more than a year after its merger with Egyptian peer MaxAB.
Yu launched Wasoko in 2014 with the goal of digitizing informal retail supply chains across Africa. Over 11 years, the company raised more than $140 million in funding from investors including Tiger Global, Avenir, 4DX Ventures, and IFC, reaching a valuation of about $625 million in 2022. At its peak before the merger, Wasoko was operating in six markets — Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal — serving tens of thousands of small shopkeepers.
The merger with MaxAB in 2023 created one of the largest tech-enabled retail distribution platforms in Africa, combining Wasoko’s East and Francophone African footprint with MaxAB’s strength in North Africa. Analysts said the tie-up was a significant consolidation move in Africa’s fragmented e-commerce sector, giving the combined group scale to compete against regional rivals and global platforms.
Yu said he will remain involved in the company’s growth under CEO Belal El-Megharbel, who co-founded MaxAB. “I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of this journey — teammates, partners, and investors,” Yu said in his announcement via LinkedIn.
On a personal note, Yu is relocating to India to join his fiancée, Rachel Abbott, as they prepare for their wedding. He will also step more fully into his role as board chair of Malengo, a nonprofit focused on eliminating extreme poverty through international education pathways.