Afrigather Wasoko, the Kenyan e-commerce start-up, shut down its Zanzibar workplace and paused operations in Uganda and Zambia weeks earlier than it finalises a merger with MaxAB.
It opened its Zanzibar workplace in 2022 as a part of the Silicon Zanzibar initiative, a government-backed program to draw tech skills. Regardless of the closure of the Zanzibar workplace, Wasoko claims it’ll proceed to function “non-public sector ambassador for the initiative.”
The corporate additionally stated its Uganda and Zambia operations are “present process a brief pause versus a everlasting closure.”
“This difficult resolution was made as a part of a broader company-wide restructuring to deal with the momentum we’ve inbuilt our extra mature markets,” the corporate informed TechCabal by way of e mail.
“Sadly, this pause in operations necessitated a discount in employees as properly.”
The corporate didn’t disclose the variety of individuals affected by the layoffs.
Following the 2023 merger, a number of high-profile executives left Waoko, together with Josh Raine, one of many firm’s co-founders. Sundararaman Pattabiraman and Tridiv Vasavada, who served as CFO and CTO, additionally left the enterprise. Carolyne Mwaura, the pinnacle of human assets, additionally left the corporate in February 2024.
“Much like most companies present process mergers, overlaps in positions happen at each degree of an organization’s construction, together with its government ranks,” Wasoko stated.
Aside from these government departures, the corporate laid off 10% of its workforce in January resulting from overlapping roles within the newly mixed entity.
“It’s just like the Kenyan workforce was swallowed after MaxAB’s arrival,” stated an ex-employee who requested to not be named so they may communicate freely. “They (Wasoko) are saying they aren’t shifting their headquarters, however all its prime leaders in Kenya have left. Whereas they name it a merger or equals, we don’t see the place the equals are.”
“Each firms have been required to make related changes on account of this merger-of-equals. This has not been a simple course of given many employees on each side have been affected,” Wasoko stated, disputing that ex-employee’s model of occasions.
9 former workers have sued the corporate and allege that their exit packages weren’t passable.
“Wasoko gave us the naked minimal in keeping with Kenyan labour legal guidelines and the method was rushed in a bid to shut the merger deal,” one other ex-employee stated.
Since its launch in 2013, Wasoko has secured $152 million throughout a number of financing rounds. After its preliminary funding spherical in 2015, Wasoko raised $125 million in a Sequence B spherical. This spherical noticed participation from eight traders, with Tiger International Administration and Avenir Progress Capital main the funding.
Wasoko’s head workplace is in Nairobi, Kenya, however it has a presence in different African nations, together with Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. The corporate will conclude its merger with MaxAB by the top of March 2024. The deal began as early as mid-2023 and was solely revealed to workers in December of the identical 12 months. The merger additionally consolidated some roles that successfully put over 100 workers out of labor.
A few of Wasoko’s prime leaders have additionally left the corporate, together with the then CFO and CTO, Sundararaman Pattabiraman and Tridiv Vasavada, respectively. The human assets head and the pinnacle of partnerships are now not working with Wasoko. MaxAB has additionally taken over key departments, together with finance, advertising and marketing and logistics.
