TradeDepot $110 Million Fund to Drive Distribution and Finance for 5 Million SME Retailers in Africa

TradeDepot, in an equity and debt funding round, raised $110 million to provide buy-now-pay-later service to 5 million SME retailers in Africa. With active operations in 12 cities across Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, TradeDepot, Africa’s B2B eCommerce and embedded finance company, plans to expand its merchant platform across the continent.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, led the Series B equity round with participation from Novastar, Sahel Capital, CDC Group, Endeavor Catalyst, and existing investors, Partech and MSA Capital. Whilst the debt funding was conducted by Arcadia Funds. 

Report has it that TradeDepot funding scheme will speed up the distribution of services to more SME retailers in Africa. As a result, there will be an increase in consumer goods brand penetration, thus driving prosperity in one of Africa’s most important sectors. 

Annually, Africa’s SME retailers generate $1 trillion in sales and contribute $2.6 trillion to the continent’s nominal GDP. Still, inefficiencies in distribution and a lack of access to financing have resulted in many wasted opportunities across the value chain. Hence, TradeDepot, through leveraging its data, technology, and logistics, connects retailers with suppliers and unlocks financing to fund inventory purchases for retailers, enabling increased sales and higher margins and other value-added services for all parties.

Onyekachi Izukanne, CEO and co-founder of TradeDepot, said, “We remain super-focused on making digital commerce and financing both accessible and affordable to neighbourhood retailers across key cities in Africa. We are delighted to be joined by an elite group of new investors and have IFC’s Wale Ayeni and Brian Odhambo of Novastar joining our Board of Directors to support us on this journey to drive growth and prosperity across the continent”.

Makhtar Diop, IFC’s Managing Director, also said, “The informal sector is a large and critical part of Africa’s economy, accounting for around 80 percent of jobs in the region. We are excited to work with TradeDepot to leverage technology to help small businesses across the continent, particularly the many retailers led by women, access the resources they need to grow and scale”.

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