Kenyan on-demand deliveries startup Sendy has raised a US$20 million funding round to help it expand across Africa.
Launched in 2015, Sendy offers a marketplace for last-mile package delivery and logistics services, allowing customers to send packages and documents using a mobile application that connects them to motorcycle riders, and drivers of vans and pickup trucks.
The startup is currently active in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, but plans to expand to other African countries, and with that goal in mind has now raised a US$20 million round. Investors include Atlantica Ventures, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Asia Africa Investment, Sunu Capital, Enza Capital, Vested World, and Kepple Capital.
“The funding is a significant commitment from our investors and will go a long way towards achieving our goal of making it easier to trade in Africa,” said Meshack Alloys, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Sendy.
The startup, which last year also secured US$2 million in investment from Goodwell Investments, has built a platform that allows businesses to move any type of goods from point A to B using any type of vehicle. So far it has moved goods worth over US$3 billion for businesses across East Africa, with over 30,000 customers on its platform. These customers include Unilever, Toyota, DHL, Maersk, Jumia, Safaricom and General Electric.
“Using Sendy’s technology, businesses have been able to lower the cost of logistics by up to 40 per cent and dramatically shortened the time it takes to deliver products to their customers. We are aggressively hiring top talent to scale Sendy across the continent,” said Alloys.
In November 2015, Sendy became the first startup to receive funding from the US$1 million Safaricom Spark Fund, which it followed up by banking US$2 million in investment in 2017.
Its most recent round continues a current trend of large investments for African logistics startups, with significant rounds for Lori Systems and Kobo360 making 2019 a record year for investment in the sector.
