Nigerian Startup Sabi Reaches 150K Small Businesses

Nigerian women-led B2B startup Sabi has announced that it has hit the milestone of over 150 000 small business users on its marketplace platform. Developed and operated by Rensource, the company has been discreetly scaling up since mid-2020. Since then, business users on the platform have recorded over $1.2 billion worth of sales via MyShop. The users are also on track to transact over $80 million on Sabi’s B2B marketplace, MerchBuy, during 2021.

Co-founder and CEO, Anu Adasolum, said in a statement. “Sabi is reaching an underserved yet vibrant market segment and is scaling quickly. The convenience, trust, and quality of our platform have been validated by our merchants and we look forward to onboarding more businesses as we continue to grow.”

Sabi connects businesses through a common platform

According to Sabi, Nigeria’s informal sector contributes more than 60% of the country’s GDP. It is estimated to be worth $244 billion and includes more than 41 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Sabi works with over 10 000 agents across Nigeria that directly engage with businesses. These include businesses in categories such as agriculture, electronics, finance, and fast-moving consumer goods.

By bringing businesses into a single network, Sabi aims to make it easier to access services that these businesses need to grow. Through their individual profiles, businesses have access to essential trading and operational functions. They can use sales and inventory management tools, buy and sell products, access financing, and track their performance.

Recently, Sabi closed a seed funding round. The company has backing from several marquee investors which include Waarde Capital, Janngo Capital, and CRE Ventures. “Sabi is alleviating critical bottlenecks that prevent informal businesses from growing. We’re building a bridge between the last frontier of underserved small businesses and a range of innovative services and products that weren’t available until recently,” co-founder Ademola Adesina said.