MarketForce Launches BNPL Merchant Stock Financing, Raises $40 Million in Series A funding

Nairobi-headquartered B2B platform, MarketForce, for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa, announces the closing of a $40 million Series A round, the largest Series A round of its kind in East and Central Africa.

The raise comes 7 months after concluding a pre-Series A round.

MarketForce is a US, Kenya, and Nigeria-based Technology Company that is building the operating system for retail distribution in Africa. MarketForce provides an all-inclusive B2B Commerce and Fintech platform that empowers merchants in Africa to source, order, and pay for inventory digitally and conveniently.

Additional benefits allow the customers to access financing, collect digital payments and make extra money by reselling digital financial services such as airtime, electricity tokens, and bill payments.

The round was led by V8 Capital Partners, a London and Lagos-based African-focused investment vehicle. Ken Njoroge, Cofounder and former CEO of Cellulant also participated in the round and joins the board as Chairman.

The oversubscribed round was made up of equity and debt.

V8 Capital Partners is a leading African Venture Capital firm focused on backing bold visionary entrepreneurs of technology businesses across the continent.

V8’s specialized know-how and investments are aimed at harnessing disruption, accelerating growth while leveling the playing field for best-in-class African IP. V8 Capital Partners looks to deliver outsized returns to its investors.

In sub-Saharan Africa, most household retail transactions are in cash and delivered through a network of about 100 million MSMEs.

Retail payments on the continent are expected to top $2.1 trillion by 2025, and MarketForce aims to digitize a large portion of these offline transactions.

Co-founded in 2018 by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, MarketForce is a leading B2B Commerce and Fintech marketplace that empowers informal merchants in Africa to order, pay and receive 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.

On the supplier side, MarketForce monetizes through availing real-time market intelligence dashboards to FMCGs. MarketForce counts top consumer brands and financial service providers such as Nestle, Pepsi, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Bidco Africa, Chandaria Industries, Kapa Oil, Safaricom, Cellulant, Lami, and Pezesha, to mention a few, as its partners.

With this round of funding, MarketForce plans to scale merchant inventory financing through a BNPL offering, grow deeper in existing markets and avail more digital financial and banking services through its extensive merchant network.

MarketForce has a team of 400 and intends to double the team before the end of the year.

“Our goal is to be the ultimate partner for informal merchants, empowering them to maximize their profits and grow in a digital age by getting better service, assortment, and access to new revenue opportunities, outfitting them with the technology and support they need to transform themselves from simple FMCG outlets to comprehensive financial service hubs for the continent’s last-mile communities,” said Tesh Mbaabu, Cofounder and CEO of MarketForce.

“Marketforce demonstrates what we see as a triple threat with regards to returns. A strong executive team with an amazing track record, an expansive untapped market of informal retailers across the continent, and a business model that scales extremely quickly.

We are proud to partner with Tesh and Mesongo in accelerating the digitization of the African retail ecosystem which will help improve the lives of millions of informal African merchants,” said Tobi Oke, General Partner at V8 Capital member of the MarketForce board.