Participated · Seed · Jan 2022

JABU operates a last-mile B2B e-commerce platform that enables small and medium kiosk merchants to order, stock and pay for products with same-day delivery and access data-driven dashboards for FMCG brands and banks. The company has a standalone wallet product, Jwallet, which merchants and drivers use for payments, cash-in/cash-out services, agent banking-style flows, stock financing and access to asset finance. In January the company reported over 6,000 merchants across Namibia, South Africa and Zambia, and the CEO said that number has since increased by 50%. JABU works with a network of logistics partners (drivers across 232 logistics partners are noted) to handle distribution. The company positions Jwallet as an alternative to BNPL, partnering with banks and building merchant communities to facilitate savings and peer credit lines rather than relying on balance-sheet credit. JABU says it will deepen its presence in Southern Africa and expand to new markets such as Botswana and Eswatini later this year. JABU operates a last-mile distribution and B2B e-commerce platform that connects over 6,000 retailers to local and multinational suppliers and digitizes orders, payments and logistics. The company owns a fleet of vehicles and eight distribution centers and offers suppliers dashboards for delivery tracking, merchandising, marketing and advertising. Since March the startup reports monthly GMV growth of 25x, average delivered SKU growth of nearly 53% monthly, and revenue growth of 35x. JABU is developing merchant wallets to digitize cash collections and enable B2B2C services, and plans to take commissions on future wallet transactions. The company has more than 200 employees and operates in three Namibian cities with recent expansion into two Zambian cities. JABU is preparing for a Series A raise to fund expansion into Botswana and South Africa, grow its tech and operations teams, and train field agents.