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Sendy, used by around 4,000 businesses and 50,000 individuals,
was founded four years ago and has so far raised $3 million.
"We will be doing a series B investment round hopefully before
the end of the year," Malaika Judd told Reuters, without giving
a target amount. "We don't want to be a small family logistics
business, we want to be a tech platform that can solve logistics
challenges across the world."
Investors in Sendy, which says it has modeled itself on other
logistics platforms such as Indonesia's Go-jek, include local
telecoms operator Safaricom, Toyota East Africa and Dutch
investor DOB Equity.
Judd attributed the interest from both local and overseas
investors to Sendy's role in forging transport solutions for
firms engaged in retail or fast-moving consumer goods in a
region with challenges ranging from bad roads to heavy traffic.
"The problem of logistics is so large that everyone is looking
at creating solutions to solve it," she said, adding the
emergence of e-commerce would further boost demand for the
services of firms like Sendy.
Toyota told Reuters its use of Sendy had boosted efficiency.
"The costs of delivering spare parts from one location to
another, or to a customer, has dropped by as much as 35
percent," said Dennis Awori, the chairman of Toyota in East
Africa.
Sendy, which has four founders, employs 60 people, half of them
in engineering.
Judd said the most realistic exit for them would be an
acquisition by another large logistics company, keen to
modernize its operations.
"If we cash out in five years I will be very happy," she said.
(Editing by Maggie Fick and Mark Potter)
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