Daniel Yu, who co-founded Wasoko in 2013, is leaving his full-time position on the Kenyan B2B e-commerce firm after over a decade of constructing it into one among Africa’s largest retail-tech startups. The transfer comes one 12 months after Wasoko merged with Egypt’s MaxAB in an all-stock deal that created a regional chief in an energetic B2B provide chain market.
“After greater than 11 unimaginable years constructing Wasoko, and finishing our landmark merger final 12 months with MaxAB, I’ve determined to transition out of my full-time position on the firm,” Yu mentioned in a LinkedIn put up on Thursday.
Yu mentioned he’ll stay concerned as an adviser however will now not run day-to-day operations. MaxAB co-founder Belal El-Megharbel will proceed as CEO, overseeing operations from Cairo, the place the mixed entity is headquartered.
“Whereas I’m stepping again from day-to-day duties, I’ll stay carefully concerned in serving to the corporate attain new heights below Belal’s management,” he added.
Yu, who’s relocating to India, mentioned he’ll concentrate on private initiatives, together with his work as board chair of Malengo, a non-profit supporting worldwide schooling.
Class-king merger
The Wasoko-MaxAB merger introduced collectively two firms with almost equal stakes and a shared purpose of consolidating Africa’s fragmented retail distribution community. The enterprise operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, and Morocco. In August 2024, it claimed to serve 450,000 retailers who reached 65 million customers.
Wasoko executed a number of restructurings to combine with MaxAB. In late 2023, it laid off over 100 staff, shut down its Zanzibar workplace, and paused operations in Uganda and Zambia. Key Kenyan executives, together with Wasoko’s CFO, CTO, and head of HR, exited in early 2024.
Wasoko was final valued at $625 million and has raised greater than $230 million from traders, together with Tiger International and Silver Lake. The merged enterprise has up to now declined to reveal its new valuation.
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