On November 20, 2018, Sendy said it was lining up a Series B fundraising round before the end of the year as it pushed to expand beyond Kenya into the wider East African market.
The logistics startup said the regional move was being driven by interest from global partners and funders. It also said it had already raised more than KES 300 million, though it did not disclose the target for the new round.
Sendy’s growth had been built through earlier investor support. In November 2015, Safaricom’s Spark Venture Fund backed the company as part of a $1 million pool aimed at helping local tech entrepreneurs access financing, mentorship and resources. That funding helped Sendy extend its operations to Kisumu, and the company later marked its first year with a free-shipping promotion over a weekend.
The firm also broadened its services in 2016 by launching a boda boda hailing product after announcing plans to enter taxi-hailing. That move did not last, and the company eventually exited the taxi venture.
By 2017, Sendy was also under pressure from the Communications Authority of Kenya over its international courier licence. Even so, the company said in early 2018 that it had posted strong returns, which it linked in part to global financial support. Around that period, it also began signalling ambitions to operate in other East African countries.
Sendy said its platform was being used by nearly 4,000 businesses and 50,000 people. Its investors included Safaricom, DOB Equity and Toyota East Africa.
