Kenyan entrepreneur Tesh Mbaabu is leading the way among young African business leaders by using cutting-edge technology to revolutionize retail distribution and bring innovative solutions to key markets throughout the continent.
Mbaabu, who established a successful graphic, web, and digital design agency, Tesh Technologies Limited (TeshTeq), at the age of 18, has a diverse background in the field of technology. He shares his entrepreneurial journey and lessons on his blog, inspiring young entrepreneurs.
In 2018, Mbaabu joined forces with fellow Kenyan entrepreneur Mesongo Sibuti to co-found MarketForce, a retail distribution platform dedicated to digitizing retail distribution for emerging markets.
The startup’s main objective is to empower consumer brands, streamline their field sales operations, and expand their distribution networks across Africa through the use of innovative technologies and strategic partnerships.
Since its inception, MarketForce has quickly established itself as a top-performing end-to-end distribution platform. In 2021, the B2B retail and financial services distribution platform established a strategic partnership with Cellulant, Njoroge’s pan-African payment company.
As of February 2022, the retail distribution platform has handled $500 million in sales transactions and mapped out more than 125,000 retail outlets in five countries, while working with over 50 brands such as Nestle, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Unilever, Bidco, and METL Group.
This success quickly caught the attention of investors. Under the leadership of Mbaabu and Sibuti, MarketForce secured $40 million in a Series-A funding round joined by Kenyan entrepreneur and startup creator Ken Njoroge.
This was the largest Series-A funding round of its kind in East and Central Africa and came seven months after the Kenyan e-commerce startup secured $2 million in a pre-Series-A funding round, bringing the total funds garnered to $42.5 million.
The $40-million capital injection, which was led by V8 Capital Partners, an African-focused investment entity with offices in London and Lagos, Nigeria, has so far been deployed to finance merchant inventories and expand MarketForce’s operation across Africa.
As a top-performing Kenyan entrepreneur, Mbaabu’s unique approach and determination to drive change in the retail industry set him apart as one of the trailblazers in the African tech ecosystem. With the support of investors, his startup, MarketForce is well-positioned to continue its growth and success in the years to come.
