MarketForce, the Kenyan retail-tech startup that enables consumer brands to optimise how they deliver essential goods and services to retailers and consumers by bridging the information gap in last mile distribution, while maximising efficiency across the sales and distribution value chain and which is the only Sub-Saharan African company selected for the Y Combinator Summer 2020 batch has secured US$150,000 in funding. 

“The product expansion was inspired by Y Combinator, which affirmed our realisation that our technology is just one part of the equation. To fully bridge the gap in last mile distribution, it is crucial that we couple up our technology with essential services on the ground in order to create maximum impact for our initial customers,” Tesh Mbaabu, who co-founded MarketForce alongside Mesongo Sibuti said.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• With the new US$150,000 in funding from Y Combinator, MarketForce will launch a new business line, MarketForce Troops, which enables financial service providers to grow their retail distribution channels in Africa.
• In May, 2020, MarketForce raised US$350,000 in seed funding to help it build upon its existing momentum and enhance its product to unlock new revenue streams, the funding coming from the ViKtoria Business Angels Network (VBAN), EchoVC Partners, P1 Ventures, and Ventures Platform.
• MarketForce will also use the funding to build out its network and adapt its technology in order to support its local merchant stores and sales teams.

A Look At What Startup MarketForce Does

Launched in 2018, MarketForce leverages mobile devices by enabling field agents to record all customer interactions as they happen in the field, and then aggregates this data and presents it through live web dashboards.

“Through analyzing the orders being placed across thousands of retailers and sales agents on MarketForce in real-time, we are able to visualize this data and tell the manufacturer and distributors who is buying their product, when they are buying it, where they are buying it, at what price, and what they’re buying it in conjunction with; enabling them to tailor their marketing efforts and promotions based on real-time market trends and consumer purchasing habits,” Mbaabu said.

Read also: Centurion Plus launches a full-suite Tax and Investment Service for Africa

Although the startup operates from Nairobi, it also has procured paying customers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, said Mbaabu. 

“Over the last 18 months, we have built a functional product, and have on boarded over 45,000 informal retail outlets, 25 consumer goods and service companies, with over 4,200 sales agents, who have processed over 85,000 transactions, worth over 155 Million USD through our platform,” Mbaabu said. “We have already begun to set up operations in Uganda and intend to do the same in Tanzania next year(2020), before scaling out to more emerging markets that face this pressing challenges over the next couple of years.”

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 writer