iProcure, the agritech startup co-founded by Stefano Carcoforo, Nicole Galletta, Patrick Wanjohi, and Bernard Maingi a decade ago, has recently faced a major development.
Despite securing substantial funding, the company was placed under administration on April 26, as disclosed in an announcement on May 1.
The platform, which facilitated connections between agricultural suppliers and retailers while offering inventory management and credit services, had raised $10.2 million in Series B funding and traditional debt financing in August 2022. This funding was intended to fuel iProcure’s expansive growth plans across East Africa.
“Following the appointment, all the affairs and business and properties of the company are being managed by the administrator. The directors of the company no longer have any power or authority to deal with these matters,” firm’s administrator, Makenzi Muthusi of KPMG Advisory Services, said in the notice.
As per Tracxn data, the company had accumulated over $17 million in funding through five rounds. In May 2023, the startup received $1.2 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under a larger initiative providing $5.5 million to seven agricultural firms to enhance food production efforts.
The precise causes of the company’s downfall remain unclear. Nonetheless, a former employee, speaking anonymously to The Kenyan Wall Street, revealed that iProcure had been struggling with cash flow limitations, a significant burn rate, and various operational challenges.
The firm appointed former Novastar Ventures partner Niraj Varia as Group CEO in a management change in 2022. “I left iProcure last year, so have no more information than is in the public domain,” Varia told The Kenyan Wall Street.
