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Sky.Garden operates as an e-commerce platform and marketplace designed to empower Kenyan merchants and connect them with consumers. The platform provides digital storefronts, enabling sellers to upload products and manage sales with integrated services such as real-time transaction monitoring, direct bill payments, and M-Pesa or bank account deposits. It emphasizes ease of entry and operation for local businesses, offering functionalities that support the entire sales cycle, including same-day delivery options within Nairobi.
The company was founded around 2015 by Martin Majlund and Christian Grubak, who identified a critical need for African small and medium-sized enterprises to effectively participate in the digital economy. Their insight centered on creating an accessible technological solution for local businesses to overcome traditional commerce barriers and reach a wider customer base. The platform has since undergone strategic restructuring, re-emerging under new ownership to further its initial mission.
Sky.Garden primarily serves Kenyan merchants seeking to expand their market reach and consumers looking for a diverse range of products from local sellers. The company's long-term vision positions it as a vital commerce catalyst across Africa, committed to understanding and addressing the unique needs of local communities. This approach aims to foster economic prosperity and strengthen connections within the African business landscape through locally relevant and operated solutions.
Sky.Garden has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round.
Sky.Garden has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Sky.Garden is a Kenya-based technology company offering a mobile-first SaaS eCommerce platform tailored for African retailers, enabling third-party merchants to sell products like electronics and home goods with end-to-end fulfillment, inventory control, immediate payment reconciliation, local shipping, and customer care—all handled through an automated framework that earns an 8% commission per sale.[1][2][3] It primarily serves small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in East Africa, solving the challenges of eCommerce adoption in volatile markets by providing a scalable, Amazon-style marketplace without requiring massive scale from individual retailers.[1][3] The company, founded in 2017, raised $5.2 million in total funding including a $4 million Series A in 2021, achieved estimated annual revenue of $3.6 million with 31 employees (down 9% year-over-year), but faced near-collapse in 2022 due to funding shortfalls and macroeconomic pressures before being acquired by Kenyan fintech Lipa Later.[1][2][3]
Sky.Garden was founded in 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya, by co-founder and CEO Martin Majlund, targeting the underserved eCommerce needs of African SMBs with a platform inspired by Amazon's marketplace model but adapted for local realities like volatile markets and limited infrastructure.[2][3] The idea emerged to empower individual retailers with control over inventory, payments, and fulfillment in a region where B2C tech faced economic headwinds, quickly gaining traction with thousands of merchants.[2][3] A pivotal moment came with its $4 million Series A in 2021, pushing total funding to $5.2 million, but by September 2022, failed financing led Majlund to issue employee termination notices and file for insolvency via its Danish holding company, announcing closure on October 16 amid cash shortages—only for acquisition talks to save its IP and Kenyan operations under new ownership.[2][3]
Sky.Garden rides the wave of Africa's eCommerce boom, where mobile penetration outpaces infrastructure, enabling SMBs to tap digital sales amid urbanization and rising consumer demand for goods like electronics and home products.[1][3] Its timing highlighted risks in 2022's macro contraction—high inflation, funding droughts for B2C startups in East Africa—but the Lipa Later acquisition aligns it with buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) trends, bundling flexible payments to boost conversion in credit-constrained markets.[2][3] By aggregating thousands of merchants, it influences Kenya's startup ecosystem by proving resilient models for fulfillment in low-scale environments, paving the way for integrated fintech-eCommerce hybrids that counter global giants' dominance.[2][3]
Under Lipa Later's ownership since late 2022, Sky.Garden is positioned to evolve into a comprehensive eCommerce suite with BNPL integration, targeting sustained growth in Africa's fintech-eCommerce convergence amid recovering VC interest post-2022 downturns.[2][3] Rising mobile money adoption and logistics improvements will likely fuel expansion, though competition from scaled players demands sharper execution on merchant retention. Its survival story underscores adaptability, potentially amplifying Lipa Later's reach while inspiring lean B2B2C models—echoing its core mission to democratize retail tech from Nairobi's frontlines.[1][2][3]
Sky.Garden has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Sky.Garden has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Seed in February 2018.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2018 | $1.0M Seed |