E-commerce platform Wasoko expands wings to Zambia

East African based e-commerce platform Wasoko has announced that it’s expanding its operations to Zambia.

Wasoko, which was  previously called Sokowatch, started operations in Kenya and now has branches in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.

According to Daniel Yu, Founder and Global CEO at Wasoko, they plan to invest over $1m in its first year of operations in Lusaka.

“With high smartphone usage and a pro-business government administration keen on expanding the country’s digital economy, Zambia is an ideal environment to launch our model and strongly aligns with our current core markets, both in terms of similar regulatory practices and a supplier base that is intertwined with East Africa,” he said at the launch.

“With this in mind, we’re confident that our new launch will not only play a huge role in accelerating our existing progress across the continent, but also significantly strengthen the purchasing power of everyday citizens in Zambia and enhance their livelihoods in the process,” he added.

Launching its central hub in Lusaka, Wasoko’s operations will enable small retailers across the city to access an affordable range of products for same-day delivery and working capital financing solely through the convenience of a mobile app.

The company is being buoyed by the $125m capital, which it raised in Series B funding round in March 2023 – the largest venture financing round ever raised for a retail startup in Africa.

Wasoko was named as Africa’s fastest growing company by the Financial Times in May 2022.

Since its launch in 2016, Wasoko’s primary product has been its mobile app, which enables shop owners to purchase goods from manufacturers and distributors at competitive prices based on supply and demand, as well as receive real-time tracking data on sales, business insights, and market trends.

In addition to expanding into Zambia, Wasoko has announced plans to double its service radius in all of its existing locations in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. The company has built a network of over 200,000 informal retailers and fulfilled more than 5 million orders to date.