Nigerian e-commerce startup Sabi, a B2B ecommerce company, laid off around 50 staff members in a restructuring to pivot towards traceability services for Africa’s agricultural and minerals commodities markets. In recent months the company, founded 2021 to provide digital solutions for logistics and finance to merchants has reduced certain products in order to focus on TRACE, which tracks agricultural and mineral goods for global buyers. Sabi’s narrower scope rendered some roles redundant and led to job cuts. Layoffs in multiple departments are common when businesses re-calibrate their strategies.
A company spokesperson told TechCabal that they were “doubling down” on the part of their business that is experiencing the most demand. This is based on the solid foundation we have laid since 2021 by supporting African merchants.
Sabi’s pivot is centered on its TRACE platform developed in partnership with Mini spideris a blockchain-based digital passport that enables the tracking of mineral and agricultural products. These passports track environmental and social data, as well quality certifications and governance data. They provide end-to-end visibility for buyers in Europe and Asia. TRACE’s goal is to standardise small and medium-scale mining to ensure commodities meet international standards. This service has become increasingly important as global scrutiny on ethical sourcing increases.
Sabi was founded in 2021, by Ademola Adesina, and Anu Adedoyin Adasolum. It has grown rapidly to serve more than 300,000 merchants, and facilitate more than $1 billion gross merchandise value annually, according to reports. The company has raised almost $60 million to scale its business. The latest round of $38 million Series A round in 2024 valued Sabi $300 million. This round underscored investor excitement for platforms that digitise Africa’s trade economic.
This shift, while challenging, positions us for long term success and ensures that we remain focused on creating scalable, accountable supply chains, the company stated in an email to TechCabal. “Our mission is the same and we are more committed than ever before to transforming the way the world sources products from Africa.”
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