Kenyan startup Twiga Foods has entered administration amid financial turmoil, joining a group of 13 once-promising ventures that have collapsed over the past five years after raising capital in excess of Sh93 billion.<\/p>\n
The business failures, including that of Koko Networks<\/a>, Lipa Late<\/a>r and Copia<\/a>, highlight the heavy losses that financiers and investors, mostly venture and private equity firms based in Western countries, have suffered.<\/p>\n The collapse of the young businesses has also rendered thousands of Kenyans jobless, with the firms typically engaging in a hiring blitz with a plan to gain scale and reach profitability.<\/p>\n Twiga Foods operated a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace that sourced farm produce directly from farmers and delivered it to urban retailers.<\/p>\n Mohamed Mohamed of Maawiy Financial Advisory Limited was appointed administrator of GT Flow Limited, formerly known as Twiga Foods One Limited, on August 17.<\/p>\n Twiga Foods attracted $185.4 million (Sh24 billion) from investors, according to the global business database Crunchbase. Its backers include the French investment firm Creadev.<\/p>\n It is the latest in a series of heavily funded Kenyan startups that have collapsed, been placed under administration, or wound up after struggling to raise more money, achieve profitability, or cope with difficult market conditions.<\/p>\n A Business Daily analysis shows Twiga Foods is among 13 ventures to collapse in the past five years after collectively raising $717.5 million (Sh93 billion) from investors.<\/p>\n E-commerce startup Copia, which raised $123 million (Sh15.9 billion), failed to secure additional funding as 2024 began, putting it under financial strain.<\/p>\n Copia provided a platform for rural consumers to order products delivered through agents.<\/p>\n In May 2024, the company cut more than 1,000 jobs and warned of a looming shutdown before being placed under administration. Clean cooking startup Koko Networks, which had raised more than $100 million (Sh13 billion), was placed under administration in February 2026 on the brink of bankruptcy.<\/p>\n Koko Networks sold heavily subsidised bioethanol stoves and fuel to low-income households.<\/p>\n The company recouped losses through carbon credit sales in global compliance carbon markets.<\/p>\n Koko Networks filed for administration after Kenyan authorities refused to issue it a letter of approval to sell carbon credits, leaving over 700 direct staff and thousands of refilling agents jobless.<\/p>\n Its investors include Microsoft\u2019s Climate Innovation Fund and French asset manager Mirova.<\/p>\n Another casualty has been Lipa Later, a technology credit venture that raised $16.6 million (Sh2.1 billion) and was placed under administration in March 2025 amid undisclosed financial woes.<\/p>\n Lipa Later was backed by Cauris Finance and Lateral Frontiers and had over 200 staff and a network of about 1,000 agents.<\/p>\n Gro Intelligence, an agriculture and climate data company, raised $117.7 million (Sh15.2 billion) before shutting down operations in June 2024.<\/p>\n The company provided AI-powered data analytics, satellite imaging, and predictive models focused on agriculture and climate risk.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In March 2024, the company laid off 60 percent of its workforce before shutting down operations after failing to secure sufficient capital.<\/p>\n Carmaker Mobius Motors shut down operations in August 2024 and sent over 40 workers home amid mounting debts and a multi-million-shilling tax dispute, which pushed it into voluntary liquidation.<\/p>\n The company sought to build affordable, rugged SUVs designed for African roads.<\/p>\n Read:\u00a0Cash burn, weak business models drive Kenyan startup failures <\/a><\/p>\n By August 2020, it had a debt of Sh649.2 million and a shareholders\u2019 deficit of Sh389.1 million. The company had raised $56 million (Sh7.3 billion) from investors such as Kepple Africa Ventures.<\/p>\n Mobius was later acquired in bankruptcy in 2025 by Silver Box, a Middle Eastern firm.<\/p>\n Agritech startup iProcure, which raised $17.1 million (Sh2.2 billion), was placed under administration after filing for bankruptcy in April 2024.<\/p>\n The business-to-business (B2B) platform connected agricultural input suppliers directly with local agro-dealers.<\/p>\n Logistics startup Sendy, which raised $24.7 million (Sh3.2 billion), closed in 2023 after running out of money and failing to find a buyer, sending home over 200 staff.<\/p>\n Sendy operated an app linking delivery drivers with customers. Its investors include the Toyota Tsusho Corporation.<\/p>\n Another B2B e-commerce startup, MarketForce, raised $84.1 million (Sh10.9 billion) before winding up in April 2024.<\/p>\n The company enabled informal retailers to order fast-moving consumer goods from distributors and manufacturers. It was backed by V8 Capital Partners, among others.<\/p>\n Kune Foods shut down in June 2022, barely a year after starting operations. It offered ready-to-eat affordable meals and had raised $1 million (Sh129 million).<\/p>\n Wefarm, which raised $32 million (Sh4.1 billion), shut down in 2022 due to difficult market conditions and scaling challenges. Wefarm operated a farmer-to-farmer digital network that enabled users to share information via SMS.<\/p>\n E-commerce firm Zumi shut down in March 2023 after raising $1 million (Sh129 million).<\/p>\n Notify Logistics also shut down in August 2022 after raising $374,000 (Sh48.4 million).<\/p>\n The failures have come despite large investments in Kenyan startups over the past decade.<\/p>\n In 2025, Kenya was Africa\u2019s leading venture capital destination, when startups raised $984 million (Sh127.5 billion), according to the startup funding tracker Africa: The Big Deal.<\/p>\n For venture capitalists, however, startup collapses are factored into the funding strategy, where a small number of successful companies pay for a high rate of failures.<\/p>\n
Copia was backed by the Kenyan venture capital firm Enza Capital and UK\u2019s Lightrock.<\/p>\n