Dutch investor Goodwell Investments has agreed to invest $2 Million (KSh200 million) in Kenya based logistics startup Sendy. The funds will be used for expansion in East Africa.
Goodwell believes that Sendy is a good fit for its investment portfolio as it enables savings, aligning with Goodwell’s impact initiative.
Sendy will benefit from the funding under the uMunthu, an impact investment fund which provides local solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The $ 100m program focuses on financial inclusion, agriculture and other impact investment projects.
“We invest money in sectors that influence the daily lives of the men in the streets in Africa.” Said Els Boerhof, Managing Partner at Goodwell Investment.
Transparent Pricing
Logistics expenses are high in East Africa, accounting for over 40% of consumer price, due to limited infrastructure and technology. Furthermore, opaque pricing models and inefficient capacity utilization further pushes up transport costs in the region.
Consequently, the ripple effect inflates prices of food, health services and household goods. This undermines the living standards of over 170 million people in the region. Goodwell invested in Sendy to help the platform address hiccups in logistics and help cut costs and enhance savings.
Since 2015, Sendy says it has completed over 180,000 deliveries and has more than 700 drivers. The company is looking to explore the “agency” distribution model which aggregates packages at a central collection point before delivering them to customers.
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