Kenyan Retail-tech Startup Cartnshop raises $400k in Funding

Kenyan-based startup Cartnshop has raised US$400,000 in funding as it prepares to commercialize next month.

Founded in 2018, Cart “n” Shop is an end-to-end e-store enabler engine that allows any retail or enterprise business to attract new customers. The startup has B2B and B2C channels, incorporating payment gateways, delivery and fulfillment centers, marketing and marketplace cross-listings, and business management capabilities.

The startup aims to enable African SMEs to set up online stores quickly and affordably,

“The Cartnshop ecosystem brings stakeholders including manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, service providers and e-commerce enablers into the channels, enabling a complete model of B2B2C,” said founder and CEO Joe Wambugu.

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The startup released engine one in late 2019 and onboarded 50 merchants. After proving the concept and gathering feedback, it released engine two with over 300 merchants. It went into a market proof of concept with Safaricom and EABL in 2020, gathering enough feedback from the market to launch engine three, which is now ready to go live and can accommodate over one million merchants.

The rollout will be funded by a US$400,000 raised this month from various business angels. Cartnshop has released its platform to some shops in Botswana and Tanzania, but its primary focus was on Kenya.