Sendy, the Kenya-based logistics startup, has halted the employment of 30 of its staff members in the past month, which represents 10 % workforce of 300 employees.
As a result of the worldwide economic slowdown and the reduction in the amount of new venture capital being invested, African startup companies such as Swvl, Vezeeta, and Wave have all reduced the number of employees in their workforces in order to cut expenses.
In the statement, the co-founder and CEO of the company, Mesh Alloys, said that this move is in response to the “current realities impacting tech companies globally.” Because of these “current realities,” the company was required to restructure its operations in June in order to drive efficiency and manage costs. “The company downsized its workforce in July, affecting 10% of our headcount,” he explained.
Techcabal revealed that Frank Kisiara, a former employee of Sendy who had worked there for three years, would be leaving the organization, catalyzed the spread of the news. Kisiara, who worked as the lead engineer in Sendy’s Transport and Partner team, said in a LinkedIn post that he would be leaving his position with the company at the end of July 2022. “July 2022 is officially my last month as a Sendy employee”, “Sadly, at 6’0″ (my debatable height) and 100 kilos (my actual weight), I couldn’t hide from the #layoffs sweeping through the #tech world.”
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Is Sendy Expanding?
The startup company has its headquarters in Nairobi, and was established in 2015 by Mesh Alloys, Evanson Biwott, Don Okoth, and Malaika Judd. Sendy was able to become competitive in the startup logistics industry on the African continent and expand to West Africa after successfully raising $20 million in a Series B round of funding in January of 2020. One of the investors in this round was Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the investment arm of Toyota. Furthermore, Sendy has reportedly secured a total of $26.5 million in funding to date from 13 different investors, as reported by Crunchbase.
The company stated last year that it aims to raise a total of $100 million by 2022 to support its expansion strategy into western and southern African countries such as Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria.
Sendy Layoff Effect
Along with the layoffs, the company is reportedly halting its expansion into Egypt and South Africa, according to a source familiar with the situation; Sendy has neither confirmed nor denied this claim. According to a spokesperson for the company, the company’s operations can currently be found in the countries of Nigeria, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Kenya.
“This move was done in full adherence to applicable laws and industry best practices. All employment and contractual terminal benefits were duly paid to every affected employee. Our staff have always been our biggest asset as a company. We have always valued their diverse talents and, more critically, their welfare. Decisions impacting them are not taken lightly. We will continue to focus on creating solutions for businesses across the continent in line with our mission of empowering people and businesses by making it easier to trade. “
More About Sendy?
Sendy was established in 2015 by Alloys, Evanson Biwott of Kenya, Don Okoth of Kenya, and Malaika Judd of the United States. As of the year 2020, the startup company had more than 5,000 cars on its platform, all of which moved various types of goods. Sendy provides e-commerce, enterprise, and freight delivery services, and its client list includes companies like Unilever, DHL, Maersk, Safaricom, and African online retailer Jumia. Sendy also delivers packages internationally. The business operates with an asset-free model and makes use of an app to coordinate contract drivers who are also the owners of their vehicles. The software also confirms deliveries, creates performance data and manages payments.
Observations
Sendy is the most recent African tech startup to be devastated by a global tech slowdown brought on by the ongoing economic crisis around the world. This downturn is characterized by shrinking venture capital financing and dropping values. Other African companies, like the French-speaking unicorn Wave, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) health tech startup Vazeeta, and the Egypt-based mobility startup Swvl, have also let people go in recent months as a way to get through the economic crisis.
