TradeDepot Inc.
Region and country of operations: Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa
Jurisdiction of registration: Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa
Business sector: Digital infrastructure and solutions
Date of agreement (month/year): 2/2023
Instrument: Loan
Finnfund’s financing: USD 5,000,000
Share of Finnfund’s financing: 28%
Size of project/financing: 18,000,000
Environmental and social category: B
Project description
There are 60 million SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 90% of retail commerce on the continent occurs through informal offline channels, with sales amounting to over USD 1 trillion. Distribution towards the informal sector is inefficient, creating issues for all parties involved from FMCG/manufacturers (i.e. Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestlé), distributors and retailers. The main inefficiencies are a lack of visibility on product demand, real-time tracking, poor logistics planning, and FMCG’s ability to target retail promotions directly.
TradeDepot is a B2B eCommerce and embedded finance platform that formalises the informal sector by building the rails for commerce and financial services for retailers and small business owners in emerging markets by leveraging data, technology, and supply chain assets to connect SME retailers with global suppliers. The company’s main operations are in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.
Main development impact
Strong impact from TradeDepot formalising the informal sector focusing on gender and financial inclusion to empower more women in emerging markets economically. TradeDepot has committed to the 2X Challenge.