Twiga Foods has announced a temporary suspension of its Nairobi operations for two months, a move it describes as the "final stage" of an ongoing business overhaul. This is far more than a minor adjustment; it’s a telling inflection point for a startup that has raised over $180 million in funding, underscoring the relentless pressures of market realities and investor expectations in the burgeoning African tech ecosystem.
Twiga Foods initially burst onto the scene with an ambitious vision which is to revolutionize Kenya's complex B2B food distribution by directly linking farmers to urban retailers, promising efficiency, cost reduction, and improved supply chain control. Its early model, however, was notably capital-intensive, involving significant investment in owning various aspects of the supply chain, including farming, extensive warehousing, and its own delivery fleet. While this provided complete control, it also proved to be a heavy burden. As former employees have candidly articulated, this approach led to a substantial "burning of money," with the costs of managing such vast infrastructure proving unsustainable for rapid scalability within the Kenyan market. The conviction in this original, vertically integrated model, according to some insiders, delayed necessary strategic adjustments until 2025.
The temporary pause in Nairobi operations is a direct consequence of Twiga's pivot towards a leaner, more agile, and fundamentally asset-light strategy. The company is in the process of relocating its primary distribution hub from Tatu City in Kiambu County, where it was negotiating a new lease, to a more strategically advantageous facility closer to Nairobi. Options in Baba Dogo, Mombasa Road, and Syokimau are reportedly being weighed, all aimed at optimizing logistics and enhancing last-mile delivery efficiency for the thousands of small retailers across urban and rural areas that form Kenya’s intricate B2B food distribution network. This strategic relocation signifies a conscious decision to divest from heavy infrastructure investment in the capital, focusing instead on leveraging technology to orchestrate inventory, drastically cut transportation costs, and better serve its extensive network of vendors.
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Twiga has actively pursued an acquisition strategy, bringing local distributors Jumra, Sojpar, and Raisons under its umbrella. This move has allowed the company to expand its reach and now manage eight distribution centers across Central, Coast, and Western Kenya. By integrating these existing networks, Twiga is transitioning towards a model centered on tech-enabled matchmaking between farmers, suppliers, and vendors, rather than shouldering the full burden of owning all logistical assets. It's a pragmatic response to the challenges of managing a complex supply chain that requires a delicate balance between inventory, transportation costs, and timely deliveries.
This strategic overhaul has not been without its human cost, revealing a palpable tension between Twiga’s ambitious promises and its immediate operational realities. The restructuring has involved significant job cuts, primarily within supply chain functions, a fact confirmed by the authenticity of the leaked "Project Easter" document. Insiders with direct knowledge of Twiga’s operations have pointed to persistent losses stemming from alleged mismanagement within the logistics and supply chain departments, issues that strained performance over time. While the exact financial figures remain undisclosed, the repeated layoffs underscore the immense pressure from investors, who, following Twiga’s last major funding round—a $35 million convertible note in 2023—have been pushing for "tighter discipline on costs and operations."
Twiga remains committed to its core goal, that is, leveraging better technology and data to improve efficiency and keep prices down for its retail partners. The temporary pause in Nairobi, therefore, represents a calculated risk—an attempt to consolidate its infrastructure and significantly enhance its tech capabilities.
