The archive · Commerce & Marketplaces · Strategic decision · 2016–2025
TradeDepot's informal-retail bet: $110M Africa B2B round, then a pivot into making goods
Nigeria's TradeDepot bet owned logistics plus merchant credit could digitize informal retail: $123M raised, 100k merchants, then a pivot to manufacturing
TradeDepot
What the business is
TradeDepot is a Nigerian B2B e-commerce and distribution company that connects consumer goods manufacturers directly to informal retailers, using its own warehouses, delivery fleets and merchant credit (BNPL).
Starting capital：$10M round in 2020 co-led by Partech Africa and IFC, then a $110M Series B in December 2021 (IFC-led; roughly $42M equity per SEC filing, the rest debt)
How it started
TradeDepot was founded in Lagos in 2016 by Onyekachi Izukanne, a former SAP consultant, with Michael Ukpong and Ruke Awaritefe. It began by distributing milk to small Lagos retailers, betting that technology could consolidate Nigeria's fragmented informal retail supply chain.
What happened
After a $10M round in 2020 co-led by Partech Africa and IFC, TradeDepot raised $110M in December 2021 — IFC-led, with Novastar, Sahel Capital, CDC Group and Endeavor Catalyst — the largest B2B e-commerce round in Africa at the time. Merchants grew from 40,000 to 100,000+ and GMV rose 5x; it added an embedded BNPL product (ShopTopUp) at about 5% monthly interest, active in 12 cities across Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
How it ended up
Still operating — but refocused: by 2025 TradeDepot had pivoted from pure distribution into manufacturing and own brands, launching Mangrove food manufacturing, the Amabile wine line with Italy's Bosio Family Estates, and the Africa Trade Engine joint venture with TRT Manufacturing.
Background
TradeDepot is a Nigerian B2B e-commerce and distribution company founded in Lagos in 2016 by Onyekachi Izukanne, who previously built West Africa's leading SAP consultancy. Its bet: Africa's millions of informal shops would trade open-market wholesalers for a digital distribution chain with owned warehouses, delivery fleets and merchant credit.
The company started by distributing milk to small Lagos retailers and grew street by street. After a $10M round in 2020 co-led by Partech Africa and IFC, TradeDepot raised $110M in December 2021 — IFC-led, with Novastar, Sahel Capital, CDC Group and Endeavor Catalyst — then Africa's largest B2B e-commerce round. Merchants grew from 40,000 to over 100,000 and GMV rose 5x, with an embedded BNPL product charging about 5% a month.
TradeDepot operated in 12 cities across Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, competing with Sabi, MarketForce, Alerzo and others in a crowded field. By 2025 it had pivoted from pure distribution into making goods itself: Mangrove food manufacturing, the Amabile wine brand with Italy's Bosio Family Estates, and the Africa Trade Engine joint venture with TRT Manufacturing.
What has to be true
- Supply first, demand second: TradeDepot gave manufacturers free order and inventory tools to secure products before hunting retailers.
- Human distribution layer: street-level sales agents onboarded one kiosk at a time, building trust a pure app could not.
- Credit as the lock-in: merchant BNPL tied shops to the platform and lifted order sizes, but carried real default risk.
- Margin lesson: after $123M, the company moved into manufacturing and own brands — owning supply, not just moving it.
What can be applied
Distribution plus merchant credit pulled retailers in, but margin came from owning supply: TradeDepot's pivot into manufacturing and own brands shows the marketplace alone was not the business.
Aftermath
As of September 2026 TradeDepot still operates in Nigeria and other African markets. It has diversified from distribution into manufacturing and own consumer brands, and its CEO also leads Africa Trade Engine, a joint venture with TRT Manufacturing aimed at localizing FMCG production under the AfCFTA agenda.
Sources
- TradeDepot raises $110M from IFC, Novastar to extend BNPL service to merchants across Africa
- TradeDepot launches Amabile in boost for Nigeria's $420m wine industry
- AfCFTA: Firms unveil Africa Trade Engine to tackle $50 billion import gap
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