Kenyan Startup To Fire Employees After Receiving Ksh300M Hustler Fund Loan

Kenyan e-commerce and food distribution start-up Twiga Foods has announced a fresh round of layoffs that will see scores of workers lose their jobs, a few months after another 211 workers were laid off.

The business-to-business (B2B) tech company, which late last year received a Ksh300 million loan from the Hustler Fund launched by President William Ruto, explained that it was adjusting operations amidst difficult times that have reduced the purchasing power of Kenyans.

The company which links farmers or agricultural producers and fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers to retailers moved to declare some roles redundant across the organisation after a review of its operating model and costs.

Image of workers packing fresh food products. /FILE

“As part of these efficiency interventions, the company has reviewed its operating model and costs to ensure its organization structure is fit for purpose.

“Regrettably, this exercise has seen the company declare some roles redundant across the organisation in full compliance with applicable labour laws,” Twiga Foods said in a statement on Saturday, August 19, without disclosing how many jobs, in particular, would be affected.

Late last year, the company sent home 211 employees of its more than 1,000 staff, representing 21 per cent of its workforce following a restructuring exercise that saw its in-house sales team scrapped.

In May 2023, another 130 independent sales agents had their contracts terminated over poor performance with the company addressing that it was only engaging agents whose sales were showing improvement.

In March, Twiga Foods partnered with the Kenyan government to oversee maize production on 20,000 acres of the Galana-Kulalu food security project under a public-private partnership.

During the same month, Twiga Foods was listed amongst the most influential companies in the world, according to the 2022 Times 100 Most Influential Companies list released on Thursday, March 30.

"Kenyan household spends more than half their disposable income on groceries, largely because inefficient supply chains led to high prices. 

"Twiga Foods has a solution as it lets retailers place orders via mobile devices and grants them 48 hours of interest-free credit, giving them time to sell what they order to customers before the bill comes due," the magazine explained in part.

The Kenyan company was ranked alongside other global companies such as Disney, Netflix, and Amazon.

Twiga Foods was founded in 2014 and connects fresh food producers with retailers through an online platform.

The platform currently has over 10,000 businesses connected with 8,000 farmers across the country. The common commodities traded on the platforms include fresh vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes and watermelons.

Vegetables on sale at a Kenyan market. /GRADUATE FARMER