Anka, a pan-African e-commerce platform formerly known as Afrikea, that connects African creators to global buyers, has been acquired by Global Shop Group after its French parent firm MANSAART filed for bankruptcy.
MANSAART, Anka’s holding company entered liquidation in August 2025 when administrators determined the business couldn’t be saved. Though the deal wasn’t disclosed, the distress sale maybe below the more than $13.5 million raised from investors including IFC, Proparco and Bpifrance, Saviu Ventures and Investisseurs & Partenaires.
Anka’s three founders, including CEO Moulaye Tabouré, will leave the company after a transition period.
“We always knew that scaling this would require more than technology,” Tabouré said. “Global Shop has what’s needed to take Anka to the next level.”
Ceesay said the acquisition advances her group’s strategy to build a global multi-brand retail ecosystem.
Founded in 2016 as Afrikrea, the marketplace expanded into payments, logistics and e-commerce tooling aimed at African SMEs. The platform reportedly facilitated more than $60 million in transactions, claiming reach in 47 African countries and buyers in 170 markets.
The swift collapse comes less than two years after a $6.2 million pre-Series A led by Investisseurs & Partenaires, BESTSELLER Foundation, VestedWorld, Enigmo, Groupe Prunay, and Rising Tide Africa who joined existing investors SAVIU Ventures, Lofty Inc, Kepple Africa, Consonance, id4 Ventures, and Thierry Petit and a $5 million financing in 2023 from IFC. Market turbulence and cross-border cost pressures contributed to the parent company’s insolvency, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
Global Shop Group, formed in 2024 and led by Gambia-born executive Matilda Ceesay, who has worked for Nike, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle and BCG will take over operations. The firm will operate independently and retain its existing customer relationships.
Anka entered a tough but glorious market. Fashion-commerce startups don’t survive long and according to statistics, around 80% of new fashion brands fail within the first five years. ANKA’s bankruptcy underscores ongoing pressure on venture-backed African marketplaces struggling to convert cross-border growth into sustainable margins.
The platform had assisted the international expansion of designers such as Nigeria’s Keerah’s Fashion Cave, which reported more than $500,000 in U.S. prom dress sales and over 200 jobs supported. With Global Shop Group now steering the business, the firm will be focused on vendor payouts from the liquidation process, continuity of logistics and payment infrastructure and future financing requirements under new ownership. In exchange, the deal gives Global Shop a recognized African digital-commerce brand at what analysts say was likely a steep discount and gives Anka a lifeline after a near-total collapse.