Nigerian logistics startup Renda has secured $1.9 million in pre-seed funding, marking another strong year for the African logistics and transportation sector. The funding round was a mix of debt ($600,000) and equity ($1.3 million), led by Ingressive Capital, with participation from several other investors including Techstars Toronto, Magic Fund, Golden Palm Investments, Reflect Ventures and Vastly Valuable Ventures. The debt was provided by Founders Factory Africa and SeedFi.
Established in 2021 by Ope Onaboye, a seasoned entrepreneur with multiple ventures under his belt, and Bimbo Onaboye, a seasoned product manager in the automotive industry, Renda is a technological platform designed to consolidate and grant access to comprehensive infrastructure for streamlining order fulfillment. This solution empowers businesses to expand effortlessly and effectively throughout Africa, ensuring seamless scalability.
Renda, which counts e-commerce giants Jumia and MarketForce as major clients, currently operates in 15 Nigerian cities. The fresh injection of capital will be used to fuel the company’s expansion plans within Nigeria, reaching new cities and strengthening its presence in existing markets. Additionally, Renda plans to leverage the funding to expand into Kenya, a strategic move that taps into the growing East African e-commerce market.
Renda operates an asset-light model which allows it to partner with various entities along the value chain. Onaboye stated that this strategy has enabled Renda to establish a wide-reaching network of partnerships, facilitating rapid expansion for its clients throughout the nation. The platform boasts a network of over 300 warehousing and storage partners, as well as over 3,000 delivery assets, encompassing trucks, vans, and bikes. Additionally, it has partnered with over 2,000 cash collection agents.
In his own words in an interview with Techcrunch, “The beauty of Renda is that we do not own any assets. We don’t own any delivery or warehousing assets ourselves. Instead, we leverage existing resources across the country. We aggregate storage spaces and warehouses that may be underutilized and connect them with businesses needing storage solutions. Similarly, we onboard delivery assets, including vans, trucks and bikes, that may be sitting idle and make them available to businesses for managing deliveries. Whether businesses want to handle their deliveries or entrust them to us, Renda provides the platform to streamline operations efficiently.”
According to Maya Horgan Famodu, founder and partner at Ingressive Capital, “Joining forces with Renda as an investor is a strategic move for us. Renda’s technology solution addresses a critical need in the African manufacturing and e-commerce ecosystems, offering seamless access to fulfillment infrastructure. We are particularly impressed by their track record of empowering businesses to thrive in this market and financials from the start of their business. With the current high inflation and skyrocketing prices for shipping and storage, there has never been a better time for Renda. We are doubling down our focus on marketplaces and solutions that promote commerce and strengthen African currencies by facilitating exports.”
