StoryLab

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Inside Sendy’s Journey: The Startup that Tried to Rewrite African Logistics

October 21, 2025

Inside Sendy’s Journey: The Startup that Tried to Rewrite African Logistics

In the early 2010s Nairobi’s roads were familiar terrain for Meshack Alloys. At just 13 he was coding, once teaching himself at Laser Hill Academy, and later at the University of Nairobi’s College of Architecture and Engineering.

His first startup, Merlloyds Technologies, came in 2008; followed by MTL Systems in 2011 which served transport, logistics and finance clients.

That background matters. Because when the idea for what became Sendy emerged in 2014–2015, it wasn’t born out of a flash of inspiration disconnected from experience.

Alloys and his co-founders had already been in the trenches of Kenya’s logistics inefficiencies.

One anecdote is particularly telling: they had built a SMS-based tracking system for a bus company that carried passengers and cargo from Nairobi to Mombasa; it would send alerts when the bus (and the packages) arrived.

This is inside Sendy’s journey, analyzing its founding story, funding history, growth strategies, competition, societal impact, and why it failed.

Disclaimer: The data in this episode of StoryLab is based on publicly available information as of October 2025 from reliable sources such as TechCabal, Nairametrics, TechCrunch, Business Day, and Saraficom’s website.

Sendy’s Founding Story

In Nairobi, sometime around 2014-15, four founders came together with an idea: mesh digital tools with the messy reality of African logistics.

The company that emerged, Sendy, was born in Kenya, co-founded by Meshack Alloys, Evanson Biwott, Don Okoth and Malaika Judd.

Mesh Alloys later said in an interview:

“The question we keep asking our customers is how we can help them sell more.”

Their origin story is fairly typical of African-tech startups in this domain: they saw a gap, tried to fill it, then scaled. But the gap they identified was perhaps more structural than many might realise.

The gap they sought to fill

In East Africa, the logistics and delivery environment remains fragmented, largely informal, with a lot of under-utilised capacity and inefficiencies. One account captures it:

“The logistics sector in East Africa is primarily serviced by the informal sector… drivers experience a lot of idle time. Without a way of finding business … these drivers lacked access to potential customers who desperately needed their service. The second was the absence of professionalism.”

In other words: many delivery and transport assets existed (motorcycles, vans, small trucks) – but they were not well-coordinated, tracked, or integrated with business clients who needed reliable, digital-savvy logistics.

Businesses (small retailers, FMCG distributors, e-commerce vendors) often struggled with last-mile, warehousing, inventory management, routing inefficiencies and costs.

Alloys recounts that while consulting for multinationals in the FMCG sector they repeatedly encountered a pattern: local distributors or logistics providers would have big gaps in their network, unpredictable service, weak data, poor tracking of deliveries, and high idle time.

That became their lightbulb moment: what if you built a platform to aggregate transport assets, supply-chain links, digital tracking, and make it accessible to businesses?

Early model and pilot phase

Sendy officially launched in 2015 as an on-demand delivery platform in Kenya.

The very first model: a mobile/web app linking clients (initially both individuals and small businesses) to a network of motorcycle riders, van/truck drivers.

The idea: book a delivery from point A to B, track the asset, reduce uncertainty. A kind of “Uber-for-goods” model. As Safaricom’s Spark Fund put it in a 2015 statement:

“When we launched Sendy in September 2014 we had a vision of making package delivery as simple as sending a text message.”

In those early days the focus was more on pickups and deliveries within Nairobi and the environs, for individual customers and small businesses.

The platform aimed for convenience, competitive pricing, speed, real-time tracking – things many Kenyan logistics firms at that time were not offering.

During the pilot phase, Sendy worked with small businesses and e-commerce sellers in Nairobi, building partnerships with retailers and vendors who needed affordable same-day or next-day delivery.

They started with smaller vehicles (motorbikes, vans) and gradually added larger 4-wheel/28-ton trucks.

Evolution from B2C to B2B, expansion of services

Over time Sendy shifted, quite deliberately, from a B2C and individual delivery app to a full-stack logistics and fulfilment platform servicing businesses: e-commerce, FMCG, manufacturing, retail.

In September 2022 the company announced publicly that its product “Sendy Transport” would now be available only to business customers, signalling a full transition to B2B.

So the evolution looked like:

On-demand delivery for individuals and small businesses (motorbike/van) in Kenya.
Then shifting to business clients, offering logistics/trucking/fulfilment services (warehousing, inventory, last-mile).
Expanding geography: Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria (at least).
Product diversification: In Kenya the “Sendy Fulfilment” offering (warehousing + packing + shipping) was launched in November 2021.

Key milestones

Let’s pick out a few of the key markers in Sendy’s timeline:

2015: Launch of Sendy in Kenya as delivery app. (Some sources say 2014 inception, but commercial operations from 2015)
November 2015: Recognition and investment by Safaricom’s Spark Fund.
January 2020: Raised US$20 million Series B (led by Atlantica Ventures, with Toyota Tsusho Corporation) to scale operations and tech.
November 2021: Launch of Sendy Fulfilment in Kenya (warehousing + delivery), a pivot deeper into B2B.
2021-22: Geographic expansion into Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda; ambition to raise US$100 million to further expand into South Africa, Egypt, Ghana.
2022–2023: Financial pressures emerge, product shutdowns (Sendy Supply), workforce cuts (10-20 %+), exit from Nigeria physical fulfilment, move to asset-light model.
August/September 2023: Sendy enters administration / asset sale process after failing to raise needed capital.

So the arc is: promising start, rapid growth and broad ambition, followed by a hard pull-back and closure/asset sale.

Funding History, Investors & Use of Funds

To understand Sendy’s journey one must pay close attention to where the funding came from, how much, and what it enabled, but also how the high-stakes of logistics mean deep capital needs and thin margins.

Early investment/seed phase

One of Sendy’s early institutional investments came via Safaricom Spark Fund in November 2015. Safaricom’s statement described:

“Sendy becomes the first start-up to benefit from the venture fund … The start-up offers a marketplace for last-mile package delivery and logistics services … Launched just one year ago, Sendy focuses on … allowing customers to send packages … using its app.”

While the exact seed round amount is less clearly documented, a 2019 article (Ventureburn) says Sendy raised US$2 million from Dutch impact investor Goodwell Investments in October 2019.

At that time the company reported having 700 drivers on its platform, over 180,000 completed deliveries, and revenue of approx US$1.5 million.

Series A and B

The more visible funding milestone: in January 2020 Sendy raised a US$20 million Series B led by Atlantica Ventures, with notable participation from Toyota Tsusho Corporation (via its Africa vehicle) and others.

In the TechCabal coverage Sept 2022 it is said that overall disclosed funding to date was about US$26.5 million from 13 investors..

Use of funds

According to Sendy’s own statements and media coverage, the funds were deployed across several strategic areas:

Scaling the platform and growing driver/vehicle network (motorcycles → vans → trucks) and onboarding business customers. For example, at Series B time Alloys said: “We’ll invest … in engineering teams and data teams … deploying talent to improve the services that we give our customers.”
Tech/product development: data-teams, routing, tracking systems, fleet-management, APIs for enterprise clients.
Geographic expansion: moving beyond Kenya into Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria; intending further into Ghana, South Africa, Egypt.
Introduction of fulfilment services (warehousing, pick-pack-ship) for e-commerce businesses; this required investment in infrastructure, warehouses, inventory systems. (Eg: Sendy Fulfilment launched Nov 2021)
Working capital / credit for SMEs (in their “Supply” and “Fulfilment” arms). Some media mention financing inventory for sellers.

Bridge rounds, debt or unachieved raises

While explicitly the disclosed funding was around US$26.5 m (some variation in sources), several articles note Sendy’s ambition to raise US$100 m in 2022 to fuel its Africa-wide expansion. That amount was not secured. For example:

In 2022 “Sendy sought $100 million in funding” according to Business Daily.
In August 2023 TechCrunch reported that Sendy valued at over US$80 m had been negotiating to raise further capital but had to seek a lower valuation of US$40-60 m after an investor backed out.

So there were perhaps bridge rounds or attempts that failed or were postponed. That funding shortfall would prove material.

Strategies that Fueled its Growth

What set Sendy apart, and what they thought would carry them forward? Several strategic choices stand out. Some worked, others less so.

1. Tech-enabled platform & data

From the start, Sendy differentiated by using a digital platform: mobile app and web portal to match demand (businesses/individuals needing transport) with supply (motorcycle riders, van/truck drivers).

They built performance metrics, tracking, payments, routing optimisation. That was more advance than many local logistics players, especially the informal sector.

Their tech also allowed them to capture location-data, build routing libraries (particularly important in Kenya where addressing is weak) and reduce idle time for vehicles. For example:

“Kenya has an under-developed national addressing system … but through data, Sendy has been able to make it efficient and work for them. ‘We save locations of unfamiliar places so that next time deliveries can be seamless,’” said Alloys.

Thus the tech strategy allowed them to pitch to larger enterprise clients (FMCG, e-commerce) that needed reliability, analytics, tracking.

2. Partnerships with manufacturers/distributors & big brands

Sendy pursued partnerships with large manufacturers, distributors, FMCG companies, e-commerce platforms.

For example, early customers included Unilever Kenya and Jumia Kenya (via mention in TechCrunch) and also Safaricom (via its venture fund and later as partner).

These partnerships gave credibility, scale, and allowed Sendy to move beyond purely individual deliveries to larger-volume business logistics, supply chain fulfilment and to sell “logistics infrastructure” not just courier trips.

3. Shift from B2C to B2B

Sendy pivoted, recognising perhaps that consumer-delivery (for individuals) is capital-intensive, fragmented and low margin.

In September 2022 they formally announced that their “Sendy Transport” product would now be business-only.

This shift meant focusing on enterprises, retailers, manufacturers, e-commerce sellers who have predictable demand, repeat volumes, and willingness to pay for professional logistics, rather than chasing many small individual trips.

4. Fulfilment service (warehousing + last-mile)

In November 2021 Sendy launched “Sendy Fulfilment” in Kenya: a solution for online sellers who lacked storage or delivery systems.

The offering: pick-pack-ship from fulfilment centres; fee of approx 13% of product selling price including storage (60 days), three shipping attempts, tracking.

This is a significant strategic move: moving from just transport to full supply-chain infrastructure, which allows higher value capture (warehousing, inventory, shipping) and deeper integration with clients.

5. Supply chain marketplace (“Sendy Supply”)

Sendy also built a marketplace where retailers could source goods directly from manufacturers/distributors, outsourcing transport and logistics to Sendy.

In theory that gives them vertical integration (supply + logistics) which could improve margins and control. However, this product line would later be paused.

6. Regional expansion

Sendy expanded its footprint from Kenya to Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and previously Tanzania. The plan was to scale across Africa, capture continent-wide logistics demand. (For example, in September 2022 TechCabal said Sendy “operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Ivory Coast” and intended further expansion.)

7. Data-driven logistics, optimisation

The underlying logic: logistics in Africa is expensive because of non-standard addresses, informal assets, fragmentation. By collecting data, matching assets, routing intelligently, warehousing strategically, Sendy hoped to reduce cost per delivery and improve reliability. For example the company said: “We aggregate all these into one, enabling a small business to do commerce seamlessly.”

Why these strategies mattered

Together, these strategies positioned Sendy as one of East Africa’s leading logistics tech companies.

They moved beyond mere bike-courier apps into full-scale logistics infrastructure: transport + warehousing + inventory + tech + business-clients.

That, in theory, gives higher margins, more lock-in, recurring revenue and is differentiated from pure consumer apps.

They also tapped into the secular tailwinds: growth of e-commerce in Africa, demand for fulfilment infrastructure, increasing digital adoption among SMEs, growing manufacturing and distribution in Africa.

For example, one article cited McKinsey estimating that by 2025 online shopping in Africa may account for US$75 billion (10% of retail sales).

So on the face of it, the strategy combined: digital platform + physical logistics assets + enterprise clients + scalability across Africa. That’s an ambitious and attractive model.

Competition in the Logistics-tech Ecosystem

Sendy did not operate in a vacuum. The logistics-tech ecosystem in Africa is crowded, complex, and full of well-funded peers and legacy players. Understanding Sendy’s competitive environment helps explain both its positioning and the pressures it faced.

Key competitors and parallel players

Local/regional logistics-tech: Kobo360 (Nigeria) backed by Goldman Sachs – trucking/logistics platform.
Lori Systems (also in Africa, Nigeria) logistics/trucking.
In Kenya/region, smaller last-mile or fulfilment players, informal boda-bodas, courier firms, informal networks.
Global/international logistics companies: DHL, Uber Freight, global trucking companies, etc.
E-commerce platforms building their own logistics arms (e.g., Jumia, others) – vertical competition.

How Sendy differentiated

Integrated offering: Not just transport, but warehousing, pick-pack-ship, fulfilment, inventory financing. Many competitors focused only on trucking or delivery.
Tech-platform oriented: They emphasised data, routing, APIs for businesses, which gave them a more enterprise-grade posture.
B2B focus: Rather than just consumer last-mile, Sendy leaned into business logistics, which tends to have higher value, repeatable contracts, larger volumes.
Regional ambition: They attempted to span multiple countries rather than local monopoly only.
Asset-light model (initially): Though they did pick up assets/warehouses, they still maintained a model of drivers owning their vehicles, and matching them digitally (at least initially) – which reduces capex compared to owning full fleets. For example, TechCrunch noted in 2020: “The company uses an asset-free model, with an app that coordinates contract drivers who own their vehicles.”

Pressures and market gaps

However, the logistics-tech sector in Africa is particularly tough. A number of structural pressures:

High logistics costs: fuel, maintenance, idle time, asset utilisation, road and infrastructure limitations.
Fragmented transport networks: Many small players, informal vehicles, inconsistent regulation.
Weak digital adoption among small businesses or informal sectors: onboarding SMBs to digital logistics remains challenging.
Addressing problems, last-mile complexity, courier reliability are more difficult in many African cities.
Thin margins in logistics: Many business clients negotiate hard; cost-savings are stark only with scale and high-utilisation.
Competition from informal providers (which may have lower cost structures) and global/international players who can out-spend.

Sendy exploited gaps: small businesses and e-commerce sellers lacked reliable fulfilment & delivery; the platform-model could improve asset utilisation; the informal driver/vehicle market had under-employment; digital tracking could raise service quality.

At its best, they were building the “logistics infrastructure” for digital commerce in Africa, rather than just another courier service.

Where they may have failed to address or fully mitigate competition pressures

Scaling across countries: Each country has its own regulatory, infrastructural, cost base, and many logistics companies fail when they expand too quickly across jurisdictions.
Cost control: Logistics remains capital-intensive, and platform models still require high fixed costs (warehouses, vehicles, people, fleet management) to deliver reliability.
Unit economics: If each delivery yields low margin, you need immense volume and high asset utilisation; any dip in demand, spikes in costs (fuel, FX, inflation) hurt.
Localised competition and informal sectors may under-cut pricing, or clients may still prefer incumbent informal logistics, which is more flexible albeit less professional.
Client concentration: Enterprise clients give scale but also negotiating power; losing one big contract can affect volumes meaningfully.

Sendy found a position, but the inherent headwinds of logistics in Africa meant that achieving lasting profitability and scale would require near-perfect execution across many variables.

They were playing in one of the hardest segments of African tech.

Competition and market context

Company	Headquarters / Region	Core Focus & Model	Key Strengths	Challenges / Weaknesses	Position vs. Sendy
Sendy	Kenya (operations in Nigeria, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire)	Full-stack logistics and fulfillment platform — combining delivery, warehousing, and supply solutions for SMEs and large enterprises	Integrated B2B focus; strong partnerships (Safaricom, Unilever, Jumia); early mover advantage in East African logistics tech; API-driven platform	High operational costs, thin margins, capital-intensive expansion, slow path to profitability, macroeconomic shocks	Baseline player; once East Africa’s flagship logistics startup — benchmark for others in innovation and cautionary tale post-closure
Kobo360	Nigeria (also in Kenya, Ghana, Togo)	Freight logistics marketplace connecting truck owners to corporate shippers	Regional reach, early backing from IFC, Y Combinator, Goldman Sachs	Overexpansion, investor fatigue, delayed payments to drivers	Competed directly in B2B logistics and long-haul freight; mirrored Sendy’s cross-border ambitions
Lori Systems	Kenya (expanded to Uganda, Nigeria)	Freight coordination platform for cargo owners	Enterprise partnerships, focus on data analytics for efficiency	Regulatory fragmentation, tough capital environment	Rival in digital freight; shared goal of reducing cargo inefficiency across Africa
Twiga Foods	Kenya	Agricultural and FMCG supply chain — sourcing from farmers, distributing to vendors	Deep supply chain infrastructure, warehousing, and inventory management	Sector-specific; faced its own cash-flow crunch	Overlaps with Sendy Supply’s SME sourcing model, though sector focus differs
Glovo	Spain (active in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire)	On-demand delivery for consumers — food, parcels, groceries	Strong consumer visibility, efficient app experience	Urban focus, high delivery costs, struggles with profitability	Indirect competitor — Sendy pivoted away from Glovo-style consumer delivery to B2B logistics
DHL Africa	Pan-African presence	International logistics, warehousing, and freight forwarding	Established infrastructure, reliability, trust	Expensive for SMEs, not built for African last-mile realities	Sendy positioned itself as a lean, tech-first local alternative
Bolt Business Delivery	Estonia (operating in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa)	Parcel delivery using ride-hailing fleet	Rapid scalability, strong consumer network	Limited logistics infrastructure, urban-only focus	Minor competition; overlaps in SME delivery but not full-stack logistics
Uber Freight	Global (US, Europe, limited Africa)	Freight-matching platform for logistics companies	Strong tech platform, global brand	Little African footprint; regulatory and localization hurdles	Inspirational model for Sendy’s tech ambition rather than direct competitor
Amitruck	Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania	Asset-light logistics marketplace for trucks and drivers	Low fixed costs, flexible platform, growing SME adoption	Smaller scale, limited financing	Learned from Sendy’s missteps — focuses on sustainable unit economics
TruKKer Africa	UAE-based, expanding into East Africa	Cross-border freight and logistics network	Strong funding base, advanced automation	Adapting business model to African infrastructure	Post-Sendy entrant; represents investor shift toward capital-efficient logistics platforms
Jumia Logistics	Nigeria (Pan-African)	E-commerce delivery and fulfillment arm	Built-in customer base, last-mile network	Low margins, dependence on e-commerce cycles	Sometimes partner (for fulfillment) and sometimes competitor (for delivery volume)

Impact on Society

Beyond the business story, Sendy’s journey also has implications for society, SMEs, employment and the digital economy in Africa. While the final outcome was not as positive as hoped, there were meaningful contributions.

SME empowerment & digital inclusion

By offering logistics, warehousing, fulfilment and inventory finance to small e-commerce sellers and retailers, Sendy enabled some businesses to access formal logistics infrastructure that would otherwise be too costly or complex.

For example the launch of Sendy Fulfilment in 2021 was explicitly pitched at “e-commerce and direct-to-consumer businesses that do not have storage or delivery systems”.

In turn, this meant that small businesses could focus on sales, customer service, growth rather than logistics.

Alloys said:

“With the push of a button, businesses can sell to their customers. And they don’t have to worry about how products get to their customers or their storage, payments and we also sometimes finance them so that customers can buy more goods.”

Additionally, Sendy partnered with digital-skills programmes (for example with Meta and with Google) to help SMEs in Kenya and Nigeria enhance their digital capabilities.

Job creation

On the supply-side, Sendy aggregated transport assets (motorcycles, vans, trucks) and effectively created gig-work and partner-driver opportunities.

In a market where many drivers may be under-employed or informal, a digital logistics platform offered more demand, digital tracking, better utilisation.

Also the fulfilment centres and staff (warehousing, pick & pack) added jobs.

Formalising supply chains & inclusion

By providing digital tracking, data, performance metrics, Sendy contributed to formalising the logistics and supply-chain segments which have traditionally been informal in many African markets.

That matters because formal supply-chains can deliver reliability, scale, and inclusion of small retailers into national and regional distribution networks.

Scale and reach

We lack complete public data on exactly how many drivers, how many businesses served, or tonnage moved by Sendy. But some data points:

In 2020 TechCrunch noted Sendy had over 5,000 vehicles on its platform.
A 2019 ITU report said that since its 2015 launch Sendy had “worked with over 5 000 businesses and 50 000 individual customers”.
As of 2021, articles refer to Sendy servicing “over 10,000 businesses” in Kenya, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

These figures suggest meaningful scale (though not necessarily large by global e-commerce standards) and a breadth of clients.

Broader digital economy contribution

The fact that Sendy tried to build infrastructure for e-commerce, fulfilment and logistics in Africa is meaningful in itself: logistics is often cited as one of the major bottlenecks for African e-commerce and intra-regional trade.

By attempting to plug that gap, Sendy contributed to experimentation in the market, raised the profile of logistics tech in Africa, and may have inspired other entrants. Their journey provides a reference point for policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Challenges Faced by Sendy

For all the promise, Sendy encountered multiple, interconnected headwinds, some external, others internal. These challenges not only slowed momentum but increasingly pressed on the sustainability of the business.

High operational costs

Logistics in Africa is expensive. Fuel, maintenance, drivers, idle time, long transit times, poor infrastructure, dealing with informal assets all contribute.

While Sendy used a partner-driver model, the fulfilment and warehouse services still required significant investment and fixed costs. Variable costs remained high.

One commentary noted that Sendy reportedly had a monthly burn-rate of around US$1 million, driven by fuel hikes, national elections, currency devaluation etc.

Thin margins from small business clients

While the shift to B2B and fulfilment was strategic, many SME clients remain price-sensitive and may not deliver high margin per transaction. Fulfilment, warehousing and last-mile still have heavy fixed costs. If utilisation drops or costs spike, margins erode. The model only works if volumes scale significantly.

Scaling across multiple African markets

Expansion into Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria (and intended South Africa, Egypt, Ghana) exposed Sendy to multiple regulatory regimes, infrastructure and cost bases. For example, in Nigeria Sendy ceased on-ground operations in favour of an asset-light model in February 2023.

New markets require new assets, client-acquisition costs, often higher risks, and the promise of scale may take longer than expected.

Global funding downturn and macro-headwinds

Sendy’s story intersects with the wider capital-market environment. After years of abundant venture capital, by 2022–23 global conditions tightened: interest rates rose, investor risk appetite declined, frontier economies faced FX-volatility, inflation, rising cost of debt.

One report said:

“The sequence of capital flight demonstrates a distinct lack of investor sentiment … Sendy was one of the startups to shut down in 2023”

Sendy’s intention to raise US$100 m in 2022 faced severe headwinds. Discussions in 2023 of acquisition/asset sale were triggered by an investor backing out, leaving the company short on funds.

Internal pivots and product-line complexity

Sendy introduced multiple product lines: Sendy Transport, Sendy Fulfilment, Sendy Supply. The Supply arm (retail purchasing marketplace) was shut down in October 2022.

Frequent pivots add cost, complexity, and can blur focus. Also the shift from B2C to B2B meant giving up one model while scaling another.

Leadership decisions and timing

Timing plays a role. The decision to aggressively expand via fulfilment and inter-country may have been ahead of the ability to fully stabilise unit economics in the home market. The external shocks (fuel hikes, currency drops, inflation, slower e-commerce growth post-pandemic) likely exposed vulnerabilities.

2023 restructuring & closure

In August 2023, Sendy announced it was shutting down operations and embarking on an asset sale, citing financial constraints and failure to raise necessary funding.

It entered into administration and appointed an administrator in September 2023.

In Nigeria the company ceased on-ground fulfilment operations and laid off 30 staff.

So the challenges above forced Sendy to retrench, restructure, and ultimately cease full operations in its earlier form.

Why Sendy Failed and the Lessons

To be honest, failure is a strong word, but for this analysis we can say that the form in which Sendy hoped to scale did not succeed, at least not in the timeframe and structure it aimed for.

Their business model remains instructive. Below are core reasons, strategic mistakes and lessons for founders and policymakers.

Core reasons for the struggles

Cash burn vs sustainable unit economics: Logistics-heavy business models require large scale and high asset utilisation. If you invest heavily in warehouses, trucks, fulfilment centres, and velocity falls (or growth slows), the burn becomes untenable. Sendy’s ambition was high; ability to raise follow-on funding was insufficient.
Expansion timing / geographical spread: Expanding into multiple countries before fully proving the model in one market increases risk. Every new country has new cost structure, regulatory risks, customer-acquisition cost, local competition. Sendy’s exit from Nigeria physical operations suggests they reached the limit of what their model could bear at that scale and cost.
Over-diversified product lines: Sendy’s multiple product offers (Transport, Fulfilment, Supply) may have diluted focus. The Supply arm in particular may have added complexity and cost without sufficient return before being shut down.
External macro headwinds: The global tech and VC downturn of 2022-23, currency devaluation (Kenyan shilling), inflation, rising fuel costs all hit logistics firms particularly hard (since cost base is local but some revenue expectations were global).
Competition & cost structure pressure: In Africa logistics margins are tight; competition from informal providers and incumbents puts downward pressure. Moreover the technical infrastructure/integration, warehousing, asset-coordination means fixed costs remain high.
Scaling across assets and markets simultaneously: The combination of software platform + physical fulfilment assets + cross-country expansion is a heavy triplet. Sendy may have underestimated the complexity of the full stack in multiple markets.

Strategic mistakes (or mis-steps)

Perhaps the decision to move into full-scale fulfilment (warehousing + pick-pack + ship) before fully nailing the transport business in one market, the warehouse business has entirely different margin structure and fixed costs.
Expanding too fast/too broad: The ambition to raise US$100 m to cover Africa may have been over-optimistic in timing given the macro environment.
Possibly insufficient focus on profitability and cost control early enough: some investor commentary and blog posts suggest that the business model’s burn was high and the margin model not yet proven.
The shutting down of Supply and workforce cuts may have signalled lack of product-market-fit or misalignment of internal resource allocation.
Relying on large future rounds to carry the growth rather than building a sustainable base may have been risky given changing investor sentiment.

Lessons for entrepreneurs and policymakers

Sustainable unit economics first: Before scaling broadly, logistics tech startups need to nail their cost per delivery, asset utilisation, fixed-cost overhead and profitability or at least break-even. That may mean prolonged focus in one market, one product line.
Cautious scaling in emerging markets: Each country is different: regulations, infrastructure, costs, customer behaviour vary widely. Expansion should follow demonstrated success, not simply ambition.
Balance between asset-light and asset heavy: The classic software-platform model works well if you minimise fixed-asset burden. But logistics often require physical infrastructure. Hybrid models need careful management.
Focus and prioritise product-market fit: Adding new products (Supply, Fulfilment, Transport) is attractive but each requires its own unit economics and marketing effort. Better to excel at one than mediocre at many.
Partnerships matter: Especially in Africa, working with local players, manufacturers, distributors, transport firms and ensuring contracts with large clients provide baseline volume helps. But partnerships also bring complexity and dependency.
Resilience to macro-shocks: Logistics firms need to build buffers for fuel cost spikes, currency devaluation, supply-chain disruption (pandemic, geopolitical). They may need diversified revenue, hedging, contingency plans.
Investor-founder alignment on tempo: Founders must align with investors about realistic growth pace, burn rate and path to profitability. In frontier markets, valuations and expectations often need adjustment when macro conditions change.

Influence on other startups and investor sentiment

Although Sendy faltered, its journey still contributes to the ecosystem: it demonstrated that logistics tech in Africa can attract global capital (Toyota, Atlantica, Goodwell, etc).

It highlighted the infrastructure gap and the opportunity space. For newer entrants (e.g., Sote, Amitruck, Trukker Africa and others) Sendy’s experience offers lessons: scale slowly, nail margins, beware geography surge.

Some investors may now be more cautious (especially post-2022) about logistics tech in Africa — citing the example of Sendy’s failure/asset sale as a caution. (For instance, the AVCA report flagged Sendy among tech startups which shut down in 2023.

Conclusion

Sendy targeted a real, deep problem (costly, inefficient logistics in Africa), used digital tools and partnerships to build a platform and physical infrastructure, and scaled boldly.

But it faced the classic frontier-market challenge: high cost base, thin margins, aggressive expansion, macro-shock exposure, and funding dependencies.

Its fall (or significant retrenchment) underscores how logistics tech in Africa is not just “logistics for the internet” but really “industrial-scale infrastructure for the digital economy”, and infrastructure takes time, money, discipline, and sometimes slower growth.

For future founders:

build the unit economics
prove one market; scale slowly
keep burn under control
pick partners wisely
factor in macro volatility

For investors:

logistics in Africa is high-risk
high-capex, long-tail
you’ll need realistic time-horizons
and perhaps more operational patience

And for policymakers:

enabling address systems
improving road/transport infrastructure
lowering import costs, facilitating cross-border trade
digitising distribution networks will make the entrepreneurial task easier

To be honest: I believe Sendy’s story is not one of failure but of a transition.

The lessons it leaves behind, in modelling logistics, in platform-play for African commerce, remain valuable. The future of African logistics is still being written; Sendy wrote a meaningful chapter.

Sources: TechCabal, Nairametrics, TechCrunch, Techpoint, and Saraficom’s website.

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