Sky.Garden, a Kenyan ecommerce firm, has raised $4 million in Series A investment to help it expand. Sky.Garden earned US$1.2 million in seed investment in 2018, and it has now secured US$4 million in a Series A round led by SANAD Fund for MSME, Aavishkaar, UNCOVERED FUND, and KSK Angel Fund, the latter of which was created by former AC Milan star Keisuke Honda.
“Sky.Garden’s sole focus is to provide African sellers with best-in-class technology to access and reap the benefits of online commerce. This investment round will allow Sky.Garden to drive impact at scale. I’m looking forward to an exciting new chapter with these great partners pioneering e-commerce with the African entrepreneur in mind,” said Martin Majlund, chief executive officer (CEO) of Sky.Garden.
The funds will be utilized to help the business develop faster. Thousands of merchants in Kenya have created webshops as a result of Sky.Garden’s introduction which allows a shopkeeper on one side of Kenya to sell things to a client on the other without requiring any technical knowledge. Purchased things will be delivered within 24 hours, and payment will be made to the seller after the consumer accepts the item.
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Why The Investor Invested
“The pandemic has underscored the importance of digital solutions in ensuring flexible, sustainable operations for entrepreneurs. We are very pleased to be joining forces with Sky.Garden, an impactful company expanding access to the benefits of e-commerce to the locally owned businesses that drive the engine of the economy and are at the core of SANAD’s mission. With an investment into Sky.Garden, we will also enable technology transfer for the benefit of entrepreneurs in the region,” she said.
COVID-19 has expedited the need for Africa’s massive but extremely fragmented and unorganized retail business to embrace the digital economy, according to Ashish Patel, partner at Aavishkaar Capital.
“Sky.Garden is at the forefront at offering these businesses, transformative tools to fully capitalise on the uniquely African e-commerce opportunity, emerging as one of the leading e-commerce enabling platforms on the continent,” he said.
Dr Daniela Beckmann, SANAD’s board chairman, stated that SANAD has long advocated for the use of technology to promote financial inclusion and company success.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Sky.Garden, which was launched in May 2017, is a mobile commerce software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform designed exclusively for African enterprises. Its user-friendly online marketplace enables individuals, SMEs, and established organizations to offer their wares.
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Its technology was created with a special focus on African sellers in mind, and it has been customized to function with the continent’s huge logistical network of both informal and organized shipping.
Sky.Garden ecommerce Sky.Garden ecommerce
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning write