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§ Private Profile · Nairobi, KE
Recommerce platform for refurbished smartphones, buying and reselling devices for East African consumers with a 12-month warranty.
Badili is a Nairobi, Kenya-based recommerce platform that buys, refurbishes, and resells pre-owned smartphones across the East African market. The company acquires used mobile devices through trade-ins and buybacks, repairs them to offer at discounted prices with a 12-month warranty, and verifies seller identities to ensure secure secondary market transactions. Operating with a workforce of 11 to 50 employees, the enterprise generates approximately $2 million in annual revenue through an extensive distribution network encompassing 37 Kenyan cities, 270 partner stores, and two of its own branded retail locations. Badili partners with major original equipment manufacturers like Apple and Samsung Electronics, and is backed by institutional investors including SOSV, Venture Catalysts, and Proparco. Having secured $4.5 million in total funding across multiple financing rounds, the company was founded in 2021 by Rishabh Lawania and Keshu Dubey.
Badili has raised $4.1M across 2 funding rounds.
Badili has raised $4.1M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Badili is a Kenya-based technology company operating an online marketplace for buying and selling used and refurbished smartphones across East Africa.[1][2][3] It serves consumers seeking affordable, reliable pre-owned devices—often at less than half the original price—while solving the problem of risky grey markets dominated by stolen or unverified phones, providing rigorously tested devices with a 12-month warranty.[1][2][4][5] Badili sources phones via its platform, shops, and agents, uses a pricing algorithm based on factors like age and model, refurbishes them in centers in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, and has raised over $2.1M in pre-seed funding (with total funding exceeding $3M), fueling expansion into West Africa amid a global refurbished phone market projected to reach $146B by 2030 at 11% CAGR.[1][3][4]
The company demonstrates strong growth momentum through partnerships with e-commerce giants like Jumia, Kilimall, Jamboshoppe, and Carrefour in Kenya; telecom leader Airtel Uganda; and payment providers Absa and LipaLater, plus recognition as one of Africa's top 100 innovative startups in 2023.[2]
Badili was co-founded in 2022 by Rishabh Lawania (CEO) and Keshu Dubey (CTO), both experienced tech entrepreneurs from Kenya.[1][2][3] The idea emerged when Lawania, also founder of Wee Media (parent of WeeTracker and Gadgets Africa), witnessed an ex-employee arrested for buying a stolen phone in Kenya's unregulated grey market, highlighting the lack of trustworthy pre-owned electronics options despite high demand.[1][2]
Early traction came swiftly: post a $2.1M pre-seed raise in late 2022, Badili launched in Kenya, quickly expanded to Uganda and Tanzania with refurbishing centers, secured OEM partnerships, and additional $400K funding, establishing itself as Africa's first organized re-commerce platform for smartphones.[1][2][6]
Badili rides the re-commerce wave in Africa, capitalizing on surging smartphone penetration in emerging economies amid a $146B global refurbished market by 2030.[1] Timing is ideal: rising internet access, youth demographics, and sustainability pressures favor trusted second-hand options over expensive new devices or risky grey markets.[1][2] Favorable forces include OEM partnerships and e-commerce growth in East Africa, positioning Badili to accelerate digital inclusion—e.g., via Airtel Uganda for broader internet reach—while influencing the ecosystem by organizing a fragmented industry, inspiring similar platforms, and cutting e-waste.[2][6]
Badili is poised to dominate African smartphone re-commerce, with West Africa expansion next to tap major markets, leveraging its funding, traction, and founder expertise.[1][2] Trends like AI-driven refurb tech, BNPL integrations, and green consumer shifts will propel growth, potentially evolving Badili into a pan-African leader influencing device affordability and sustainability. As Africa's re-commerce pioneer, it transforms risky grey markets into organized opportunity, delivering scalable impact from Nairobi's base.[1][6]
Badili has raised $4.1M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Badili's investors include Grenfell Holdings, SOSV, Venture Catalysts, V&R Africa, Paras Patel, GSF Accelerator, Pras Hanuma.
Badili has raised $4.1M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $2.1M Pre-Seed in December 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2022 | $2.1M Pre Seed | — | Grenfell Holdings, SOSV, Venture Catalysts, V&R Africa | Announced |
| May 1, 2022 | $2M Seed | Paras Patel | GSF Accelerator, Pras Hanuma | Announced |