African B2B e-commerce startups Wasoko and MaxAB complete merger

Two of Africa's largest B2B e-commerce platforms،WasokoandMaxAB، have finally completed the continent’s much-talked-about merger، TechCrunch has learned. The all-stock transaction، both companies say، marks “an evolution from B2B e-commerce companies to a multi-vertical ecosystem for Africa’s $600 billion informal retail sector.”

Talks of a merger

Talks of a merger between Kenya-based Wasoko and Egypt-based MaxABbegan last December. This merger، the first of its scale on the continent، involved integrating 16 subsidiaries across multiple countries،Daniel Yu، co-CEO of the combined entity، told TechCrunch in an interview. Given this complexity، the eight-month timeline is not unusual in the context of global mergers.

Tiger Global، Silver Lake، Avenir، and British International Investment are some of the high-profile investors who collectively invested over $240 million in Wasoko and MaxAB before this merger.

Wasoko and MaxAB act as distributors for small mom-and-pop shops across Africa، with some financial services attached، and initially served traditional retailers in eight markets. However، they've scaled back to five markets: Egypt، Kenya، Morocco، Rwanda، and Tanzania. This retrenchment reflects a broader trend among B2B e-commerce companies across Africa، many of which have scaled back operations، pivoted، or closed due to cash shortages and changing funding landscapes.

Despite the challenges، the merger presents a bigger pie for the companies. Independently، Wasoko and MaxAB were two of the largest B2B e-commerce companies based on metrics like GMV and merchant base. Although both companies declined to share updated GMV figures (Wasoko، for instance، made $300 million GMV in 2022)، the newly formed entity claims to have the continent’s largest network of B2B informal retailers، with over 450،000 merchants.