The demise of MarketForce, once a rising star in the African B2B e-commerce landscape, exemplifies the challenges of scaling startups in emerging markets. Despite early successes, the company ultimately fell short of its ambitions.
However, its founders, Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, are far from finished. Teaming up with Mark Kiarie and Kuria Kevin, they have regrouped and are now building a new venture, Chpter, which has just secured USD 1.2 M in pre-seed funding.
MarketForce: A Promising Start, an Uncertain End
MarketForce was conceived in 2018 as a sales force automation software company. Its goal was to offer consumer brands real-time market visibility on the performance of their agents, products, and services. The idea quickly attracted interest, and the company secured large paying customers, Mbaabu claims. However, the growth was slow, and the sales cycles were lengthy—a combination that proved challenging in a market where venture capital was scarce.
