Startups
MarketForce bridges the gap in retail distribution by delivering an end-to-end platform that enables consumer brands to deliver essential goods and digital financial services to retailers and consumers in Africa.
We provide a B2B retail marketplace that empowers informal merchants in Africa to source, order and pay for inventory digitally and conveniently, access financing, collect digital payments and make extra money by reselling digital financial services such as airtime, electricity tokens and bill payments.
We provide a B2B retail marketplace that empowers informal merchants in Africa to source, order and pay for inventory digitally and conveniently, access financing, collect digital payments and make extra money by reselling digital financial services such as airtime, electricity tokens and bill payments.
Overview
Location
Kenya, Nairobi
Employees
201-500
Total raised
$44.15M
Founded date
2018
Investors 11
| Date | Name | Website |
| Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see |
| Reflect Ventures | reflectventures.com | |
| Stradford Venture Partners | stradfordventurepartners.com | |
| P1 Ventures | p1.ventures | |
| May 20, 2021 | Y Combinator | ycombinator.com |
| Kube VC | kubevc.com | |
| Last Mile Money | lastmile.money | |
| Remapped Ventures | remappedventures.com | |
| Rebel Fund | rebelfund.vc | |
| May 19, 2022 | VU Venture Partners | vuventurepartners.com |
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Funding Rounds 4
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
| Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see |
| Oct 25, 2021 | Funding round | $2M | |
| Jul 11, 2021 | Series A round | $2M | |
| Aug 13, 2020 | Funding round | $150K |
Mentions in press and media 28
| Date | Title | Description |
| Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see |
| Dec 19, 2023 | Marketforce CEO says Pezesha’s liquidation suit is premature | Tesh Mbaabu, CEO of Marketforce, a Kenyan business-to-business e-commerce that raised $40m in series A funding in 2022, has questioned the approach that Pezesha, a Kenyan startup that offers business loans-as-a-service is taking to resolve ... |
| Oct 28, 2023 | MarketForce exits three markets, set to launch a social commerce spinout | Kenyan B2B e-commerce company MarketForce has shut down operations in three of its five markets in Africa and is in the early stages of launching a social commerce spinout. TechCrunch has learned that MarketForce’s super-app dubbed RejaReja... |
| Sep 14, 2023 | NEW REPORT: African agrifoodtech startups face headwinds as VC funding drops sharply from record-breaking 2022 | Disclosure: AgFunder is the parent company of AgFunderNews. There’s no denying 2023 has been a gloomy year so far for agrifoodtech financing in Africa — as is the case in most other markets around the world. Africa’s food and agriculture te... |
| Aug 17, 2023 | How potent is crowdfunding for African startups? | One year after closing its $40 million Series A, MarketForce needs more cash, but this time from the public. The Kenyan e-commerce giant announced that it is raising $1 million via WeFunder, an online crowdfunding service. “We are excited t... |
| May 31, 2023 | MarketForce tightens its belt as tough times hit B2B commerce | MarketForce, a Kenyan B2B e-commerce platform to help independent corner shops source goods, once had an ambitious plan to grow the number of users on its platform to a million by the end of 2022, with a network effect bringing millions mor... |
| Oct 18, 2022 | 50 African tech founders launch Pando DAO to drive development across Africa | In recent times, the African tech ecosystem has been on a steady upward trajectory. This year, venture funding on the continent is projected to cross the 7 billion mark with almost a thousand deals, establishing the continent as an outlier ... |
| Aug 24, 2022 | African tech companies are raising funds, but laying off workers | After what many would call a headline year, 2022 has not been a great year for global tech. Earlier in the year, much of the talk in the tech sector focused on falling valuations, dropping stock prices and slower funding rounds. Now, the la... |
| Aug 11, 2022 | Kenyan B2B e-commerce platform Marketforce cut about 9% of staff in reorganization strategy | Kenyan retail B2B and end-to-end distribution platform Marketforce laid off a chunk of its workforce in July, according to sources familiar with the matter. In an email sent from Marketforce CEO Tesh Mbaabu and obtained by TechCrunch, the l... |
| Apr 20, 2022 | MarketForce raises $40 million Series A, introduces BNPL merchant stock financing | MarketForce, the retail B2B and end-to-end distribution platform founded in Kenya, has raised $40 million in Series A funding for its merchant inventory financing and expansion across Africa. |
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FAQ about MarketForce
When was MarketForce founded?
MarketForce was founded in 2018.
How much funding has MarketForce raised?
MarketForce has raised $44.15M in total across 4 funding rounds.
What funding rounds has MarketForce raised?
Parsers VC lists 4 funding rounds of MarketForce, among them a funding round of $2M on Oct 25, 2021, a Series A round of $2M on Jul 11, 2021 and a funding round of $150K on Aug 13, 2020.
Who has invested in MarketForce?
Parsers VC lists 11 investors of MarketForce, among them VU Venture Partners, TEN13 and Y Combinator.
What has the press written about MarketForce?
Parsers VC has collected 28 articles mentioning MarketForce, among them “Marketforce CEO says Pezesha’s liquidation suit is premature” (Dec 19, 2023) and “MarketForce exits three markets, set to launch a social commerce spinout” (Oct 28, 2023).
Is MarketForce still active?
Yes, MarketForce is active; its latest activity on Parsers VC dates from Apr 19, 2024.