Namibian B2B e-commerce startup, JABU, raises $15m in a Series A funding round led by Tiger Global

Jabu, a Namibian B2B e-commerce startup, announced that it raised $15m in a Series A funding round led by Tiger Global. Other investors in this round include Box Group, Knollwood, D Global Ventures, Afore Capital, Oldslip and FJ Labs. This is the second time for some of the investors like Afore Capital, Oldslip and FJ Labs who were involved in the $3.2 million seed financing round some months ago.

JABU says that the new funds will be used to deepen its presence in Southern Africa, expanding to new markets like Botswana and Eswatini later this year.

Founded in 2020 by David Akinin, JABU is powering the way in which shop-owners order, source, and stock their products, and executing the last mile of distribution for FMCG brands. The startup operated in stealth mode for much of last year and became the first Namibian startup to be accepted into the Y Combinator Accelerator for the summer 2021 batch.

JABU currently has about 9000 merchants using its platform across Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.

JABU offers more than last mile services. It also has a digital wallet based product named Jwallet which allows their merchants use physical inflows to offer cash withdrawals and deposit services for their customers. This is similar to agency banking services in Nigeria and Moroccan-based Chari also offers a similar product.

According to Akinin, “You can offer your end consumers the ability to withdraw and deposit money into their wallets and bank accounts through JABU. So we’re connecting an API to banks into the interchange, literally to allow someone who received money via the wallet to walk up to a JABU merchant who can use their physical float and withdraw money.”

Jwallet is also used by drivers who handle distribution for its 232 logistics partners, can access asset finance and by merchants for stock financing.

“Many businesses like ours are taking money out of the market. We’re trying to build a business that brings products into the market and continues in a journey that has a multiplier effect of moving that money 20 times around that market. And I think that’s the point of building the JABU wallet. There will be shared services; other products will stem from this and so will the ability to pay for services and products in those markets,” he adds.