Kenyan e-commerce firm, Twiga Foods, will attempt to adjust business operations and rejuvenate revenues after reducing its workforce by 59 – according to Tech Cabal.
- •The reported layoff was announced in a company statement, propping the move as the second round of retrenchment done by the ailing startup since last year.
- •In August last year, Twiga Foods laid off 283 workers (a third of the workforce) as a strategy to realign operations with the tough market conditions and the funding drought that led to a financial crunch for many startups last year.
- •Twiga Foods saw the exit of its founder and CEO, Peter Njonjo, in March this year after a protracted legal battle over unpaid debts worth US$ 261,000 to Incentro; Later in May, an ex-Jumia executive, Charles Ballard, assumed the CEO position in the firm.
“These changes are crucial as Twiga accelerates towards profitability and continues its mission of revolutionising food distribution in Africa through innovative digital solutions,” said the firm in a statement.
To further augment the firm’s survival, Twiga Foods will hire 25 new staff members in its growth and innovation department. These positions will be crucial in stimulating the company’s well of ideas to prosper in the current market and financial conditions.
“I’d like to give my heartfelt thanks to all affected staff members for their contributions to the strategic realignment started last year and to Twiga’s continued success. These adjustments will allow us to improve our service offering and lay a stronger foundation for sustainable growth in the years to come,” said the firm’s CEO, Charles Ballard.
After Twiga Foods laid off a third of its workforce last year, it violated terms of an agreement with Incentro – a Google Cloud service reseller. The two entities had agreed in 2022 that Incentro would provide cloud services worth US$3 million to Twiga Foods over 3 years.
Due to persisting challenges late last year, the e-commerce startup was unable to pay its monthly obligations prompting Incentro to file a lawsuit against them. The court mandated that both parties had until March this year to resolve their debacle.
Although the company was able to sort out its liquidation dispute with Incentro, raising funds and achieving profitable growth has been a challenge. Last year in November, Twiga Foods raised US$35 million from Creadev and Juven.
Twiga Foods’ woes, if not miraculously placated, will likely drown the company into the same ocean as its erstwhile e-commerce peers – Sendy and Copia. The firm is looking forward to securing valuable partnerships and viable business models that would minimize the burn rate and resuscitate investor trust.
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