Nigerian B2B eCommerce startup secures $10-million 

TradeDepot has raised $10-million in a pre-Series B equity round co-led by Partech, International Finance Corporation, Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), and MSA Capital.

The new investment will enable TradeDepot to continue connecting international brands with small businesses in Nigeria, expand into other African cities, launch a suite of financial products, and credit facilities aimed at supporting its retailers.

TradeDepot has secured an additional $10-million in investment funding

Onyekachi Izukanne, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of TradeDepot comments on securing the new investment. 

 “We are excited to strengthen our team and welcome on board some incredible strategic investors and partners, as we double down on our mission to digitize and simplify retail distribution for the continent. Africa’s offline retail market is estimated at $1-trillion, and this new investment allows us to capture an even greater segment of that market. We will continue to use data to drive efficiencies and provide an easier stock acquisition service for our 40,000+ retailers, driving down costs for them by negotiating even better deals with our global manufacturing partners, whilst simultaneously providing a better, faster route to market for our suppliers.”

In a bid to help retailers grow their businesses, TradeDepot is set to launch a suite of financial products and credit facilities. Many retailers do not have the collateral that banks demand but by leveraging their trading relationship with TradeDepot, retailers can access the funds they need to buy more goods, scale their businesses, and generate more revenue.

The secured $10-million is an addition to the $3-million that was raised from Series A equity led by Partech in 2018. 

TradeDepot 

Founded in 2016, TradeDepot is a Nigerian B2B eCommerce startup that utilises an end-to-end distribution platform that aims to connect the world’s top consumer goods companies directly to retailers in Africa. 

Since launching, TradeDepot has created a network of more than 40 000 micro retailers in Nigeria and has worked with leading distributors and manufacturers including Unilever, Danone, and more.

The platform enables easier access to affordable household supplies such as milk, soap, detergent, and other essential items for informal urban retail networks. 

How does it work? 

TradeDepot essentially acts as an affordable and seamless middleman between international brands and small businesses in Nigeria. Retailers can order and pay for goods using TradeDepot’s mobile apps (Android and Whatsapp), Ussd or, a toll-free number. 

The ordered goods are delivered directly to the small businesses with the assistance of TradeDepot’s vans and tricycles. In addition, small business owners can order stock and manage their inventory online with a number of payment methods available to them including; digital payments or cash. 

Catering to consumer good brands, TradeDepot provides direct-to-retail distribution within the large informal sector in some of Africa’s busiest cities. Suppliers can make use of the CRM and data management system to plan and monitor their sales routes in real-time. This tool further allows suppliers to gain valuable insight into trade and retail data. 

Retailers have benefited from utilsing TradeDepot as it allows them easier access to a range of products which results in an overall increase in revenue for business owners.

TradeDepot has reported that one retailer was able to grow the amount of sales transactions by more than 15 times. Not only does TradeDepot enable small business owners to grow their revenue but allows them to expand their businesses and generate employment. 

TradeDepot has recorded considerable growth since its launch, activating a new store every three minutes and receiving a retailer order every four seconds on average. 

Empowering female business owners 

With a predominately female customer base, TradeDepot will be offering mentorship and opportunities to connect its customer base with domestic and global markets aiding them to expand their businesses. 

Hanh Nam Nguyen, Program Manager, speaking on behalf of IFC as implementing partner of We-Fi expresses the importance of empowering African female small business owners. 

“Women play a pivotal role in driving economies across Africa, but lack of access to capital, limited market linkages, cultural norms, and other challenges often prevent them from achieving the success they want. We-Fi financing will incentivize TradeDepot to build stronger women-led small and medium enterprises (SME) retailer and distributor networks, which will support them to become drivers of economic growth in their communities.”  

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