Namibia’s JABU Gets $15 Million Toward B2B eCommerce

JABU, a Namibia-based startup that dubs itself as a last-mile distribution eCommerce company, has been the recipient of a $15 million Series A round, a Yahoo report said Wednesday (May 25).

This comes as more venture capital enters Africa’s B2B eCommerce retail. Startups in that area have been working on digitizing informal trade in order to help merchants operate better.

JABU works on logistics issues, letting merchants order, stock and pay for products using Jwallet, and then offering same-day delivery.

The company also provides data-driven services like sales metrics and agent performances through dashboards.

According to CEO David Akinin, the plan is to build around its Jwallet, which it rolled out as a standalone product.

Jwallet’s objective is to use physical cash flows to offer cash withdrawals and deposit services, which is like agency banking, in which human agents act as ATMs to offer financial services in remote areas.

“You can offer your end consumers the ability to withdraw and deposit money into their wallets and bank accounts through JABU,” said Akinin. “So we’re connecting an API to banks into the interchange, literally to allow someone who received money via the wallet to walk up to a JABU merchant who can use their physical float and withdraw money.”

See also: South Africa’s JABU Gets $3.2M for Its B2B eCommerce and Retail Play

PYMNTS wrote in January that JABU had raised $3.2 million in a financing round.

JABU is part of a number of startups on the continent working with small retail shops on ordering products, also providing data services for manufacturers and suppliers. The network connects over 6,000 retailers and digitizes orders, payments and logistics.

Some of the suppliers it works with include Coca-Cola, Namibia Breweries Limited, Namib Mills and Bokomo Foods, a South African breakfast cereal company.

This all comes as the number of African tech startups getting funding between 2015 and 2020 grew by 46%, which was almost six times faster than the average worldwide.