Kenya has recorded the collapse of 6 promising tech startups as a result of bad market conditions. The folds of the startups have left Kenya in a devastating state, hurting the country’s vision to become the Silicon Savannah of Africa.
After five years of operation, Sky Garden, a Kenyan e-commerce platform dished out dismissal notice to its staff ahead of the planned shutdown of the business.
The news became viral after Mess Alloys, the CEO and co-founder of Sendy started the closing down of Sendy’s retail and supplier platform known as Sendy Supply; as a result of a 20% deterioration in its workforce.
Other tech startups who have halted their full or part of their operations In four months to October include Kune Foods, Notify Logistics, WeFarm, and BRCK.
BRCK is a tech startup that had its funding from Facebook, and provides free WiFi in public transport was affected more by the global pandemic,Covid-19 wave, which led to the shut down of the company.
The CEO of Anza Speaks
In reaction to the economic drought that hit Kenyan startups, Bobby Gadhia, the CEO of Anza and the founder of PC World Limited, a tech firm which collapsed in 2016 after 21 years of operation, stated that “most start-ups and entrepreneurs are emotional and over-optimistic about their business ideas. They start these ideas without proper planning and they are disillusioned by the success of Silicon Valley,”
Gadhia is of the opinion that entrepreneurs are over ambitious at the start of their operation which leads to the fall. He further stated that most tech investors aim for the profit instead of a rigid business plan.
Bobby Gadhi added that tech entrepreneurs are to note that the tech sector isn’t for the faint-hearted but rather the most stressful and demanding one can ever venture into.
