As Kune Shutters In Kenya, Insiders Paint A Messy Picture

Former employees of Kune Food, the controversy-hit Kenyan foodtech startup that shut down last week due to what the founder described as financial constraints, are convinced the collapse of the short-lived business was largely self-inflicted.

Insiders paint a picture of mismanagement of funds, bizarre office politics, and questionable decision-making at the helm as major contributing factors responsible for the accelerated demise of the now-defunct startup. Five former employees, all of whom asked to be anonymous to protect their future prospects, described a culture of profligacy, baffling practices, and shoddy planning at the company.

“We were burning through too much cash every month. So many of the decisions taken by management were just bad, a misplacement of priorities,” said a former employee at Kune who claimed to be privy to financial dealings.

“It just seemed like the CEO was out of touch and out of his depth. Like he just never thought decisions through because we ended up wasting money by throwing away up to 70 percent of the meals made on some days due to the fact that we were producing what we were not sure of selling. It was pathetic.”

Kune's meals typically came in minimalistic but nice-looking packagesImage Credits: @SaruniBM/Twitter

Another former staff, who worked in Kune’s marketing unit, mentioned that the rot at the company was worsened by bloated salaries among the startup’s highest-ranking executives, as did the spendthrift culture and...