- Kenya’s construction tech startup Jumba, has announced it has raised a $4.5 million seed round.
- The funds will be used to further develop their tech and extend their growth in East Africa and beyond.
- Jumba simplifies the sourcing of construction materials through a common marketplace for retailers and developers.
Kenya’s construction tech startup Jumba, has announced it has raised a $4.5 million seed round. The funds will be used to further develop their tech and extend their growth in East Africa and beyond.
Jumba launched its marketplace in April 2022 and already serves customers in over 60 percent of the counties in Kenya.
The company creates efficiencies in the construction materials supply chain by offering digital transactions and transparent pricing for manufacturers, hardware stores and construction sites. Hardware store owners use Jumba’s platform as a one stop shop for all construction materials, benefiting from pricing and supply visibility as well as reliable service.
Jumba simplifies the sourcing of construction materials through a common marketplace for retailers and developers, that takes away the headache of dealing with multiple suppliers.
Customers access products through its web platform but its team of sales associates in the different counties help with client sourcing. Jumba then negotiates discounted prices (plus their markup) with manufacturers. As a one stop shop, the firm manages the sourcing, and logistics headache. By using its platform, customers will also have access to their documents and invoices, for them to reconcile
As part of the seed round, Jumba will partner with local banks to launch an embedded credit solution to provide financing to its marketplace customers. This will address cash flow constraints in the construction materials ecosystem that have historically hindered residential construction.
The seed round was led by LocalGlobe, a leading seed stage investor in Europe. The round also included Foundamental, a construction tech focused VC that has invested in construction unicorns outside Africa, as well as Enza Capital (who led the pre-seed round), Seedstars International Ventures, Logos Ventures, SpeedInvest, First Check Africa and Alumni Angel Network.
“We have been excited about the continued strong demand we receive from our customers. This round will allow us to further build a product that increases efficiencies in the construction supply chain, unlock financing, and reach more regions in Kenya, ” said Jumba CEO Kagure Wamunyu.
She added, “We are making it easier and more affordable for businesses to access construction materials, and look forward to contributing our efforts and technology to establish more affordable housing in Africa.”
Jumba will also use the investment to grow its team. CTO Miano Njoka said, “We intend to hire a strong team of software engineers, product managers and UX designers this year to help build out our vision for Jumba.”
Jumba’s investors are excited about the opportunity in construction and what Jumba is building.
Yvonne Bajela, Partner at LocalGlobe, noted about this opportunity, “Africa’s rapidly growing construction industry remains largely undigitised and dogged by significant inefficiencies. Jumba is changing that and we’re thrilled to be partnering with the exceptional team building Jumba.”
Shubhankar Bhattacharya, General Partner at Foundamental noted that Africa represents the next frontier as a construction market that is not only large, but also primed for disruption through technology enablement.
“We are thrilled to back Jumba, which has emerged as the clear market-leader in the region. In Kagure, Miano and Peace, we are fortunate to have found a brilliant set of operators who have fully internalized the playbook of building an execution moat.”
