Unique: Kenyan agritech iProcure recordsdata for chapter after buyers’ snub

iProcure, the Kenyan agritech startup that raised $17.2 million from buyers in ten funding rounds, filed for chapter on April 26 after failing to persuade current and new buyers to inject extra capital into the enterprise. 

The corporate’s co-founder and director Stefano Carcoforo informed a Kenyan courtroom the corporate was struggling to fund operations and chapter safety was essential as a result of it couldn’t pay its money owed. 

Whereas Carcoforo didn’t disclose the corporate’s liabilities, one particular person with data of the enterprise estimated its money owed at over $1.5 million (KES197.25 million).  

“I, Stefano Francesco Carcoforo sincerely declare that the corporate will not be capable of pay its debt as and after they fall due,” Carcoforo mentioned in an affidavit filed in courtroom.

“The corporate has currently been unable to satisfy its monetary obligations on a day-to-day foundation. At that time, the corporate approached its shareholder and different potential buyers to pump in additional investments to allow the corporate to commerce usually available in the market.”

iProcure was based in 2013 by Carcoforo, Nicole Galletta, Patrick Wanjohi, and Bernard Maingi to assist distributors of agricultural inputs like fertilisers supply merchandise from producers.

The startup’s struggles communicate of difficulties dealing with African tech startups that raised capital from buyers within the early days on the promise of speedy development and have been unable to hit profitability.

“That failing to draw extra funding, the corporate sought the safety of the legislation below the Insolvency Act of 2015, by appointing a certified administrator below the legislation, to handle the corporate’s affairs and property of the corporate,” Carcoforo informed the courtroom.

Makenzie Muthusi, a associate at KPMG advisory arm, was named administrator.

The startup has had 10 rounds of fundraising, the most recent being in 2023, the place it obtained a grant from USAID East Africa Commerce and Funding Hub and Spark Accelerator.