Sabi Lays Off 20% Of Staff After Raising $38m, Pivots Toward High-Margin Commodity Export Business

Sabi, one of Africa’s fastest-growing B2B e-commerce startups, has laid off around 20% of its staff—about 50 employees—as it shifts focus away from retail digitization to double down on its fast-growing commodity export division.

The layoffs were confirmed by the company on Thursday and come as part of a broader restructuring aimed at consolidating resources around TRACE (Technology Rails for African Commodity Exchange), a new business vertical that is rapidly becoming Sabi’s growth engine.

Founded in Lagos in 2020, Sabi started as a software solution helping informal retailers digitize their inventory and sales—an urgent necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic when disruptions exposed inefficiencies in traditional supply chains. The platform quickly evolved into a full-fledged FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) marketplace with embedded finance tools, allowing it to scale across Nigeria and later Kenya. By mid-2023, Sabi reported over 300,000 merchants and an annualized gross merchandise volume (GMV) of over $1 billion. That growth story helped the company raise $38 million in a Series B round at a $300 million valuation.

But even with strong traction, Sabi was not immune to the structural headwinds that have challenged African B2B e-commerce platforms: thin profit margins, high operational costs, and complex logistics. While many of its competitors leaned on asset-heavy models that burned through cash, Sabi adopted an asset-light approach that allowed it to remain profitable. However, the market shift became clear—retail digitization was growing slower than expected, while demand for traceable, ethically sourced commodities was accelerating globally.

In March 2024, Sabi launched TRACE, a business unit focused on exporting minerals and agricultural products like lithium, cobalt, tin, and cash crops. These exports are aimed at meeting rising global demand—especially from buyers in the U.S., Europe, and Asia—for commodities that are traceable, ESG-compliant, and ethically sourced. In less than a year, TRACE has scaled to exporting more than 20,000 metric tons of such commodities every month.

“Sabi is entering its next chapter, with a focused commitment to commodity trade and traceability for global customers,” the company said in a statement. “We’re doubling down on the part of our business seeing the most demand, built on the strong foundation we’ve laid since 2021 by supporting African merchants and their growth. To align with this momentum, we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure parts of our team.”

The restructuring reflects a broader transformation in Sabi’s business model, as the company pivots from its original mission of supporting small retailers to becoming a major infrastructure player in Africa’s commodity trade. TRACE leverages Sabi’s original digital and logistics infrastructure but applies it to export-focused supply chains. The goal: offer global buyers end-to-end visibility into commodity origins, from farm or mine to port, ensuring compliance with international sustainability and sourcing standards.

Sabi’s strategy aligns with growing international pressure on supply chains to become more transparent and sustainable. Traceability and ESG compliance are now considered premium features in the commodity markets. Sabi is tapping into a more profitable, scalable, and globally relevant opportunity by catering to that demand.

The company has also expanded its operations into the United States and hired senior executives to support its global growth. Its shift is being closely watched in Africa’s tech ecosystem, where many early-stage companies—particularly those focused on informal trade and logistics—are rethinking their paths to sustainability.

While the layoffs are a painful decision, the company said it remains committed to profitability and long-term growth. The asset-light structure that once supported informal retailers is now being repurposed to enable a new kind of African trade: one built on infrastructure, compliance, and global trust.

The pivot also illustrates a broader lesson in the African startup scene—scaling beyond the digitization of fragmented local markets may require stepping into the global value chain, particularly where Africa holds a competitive edge in raw materials and agriculture.

With this move, Sabi is seen as positioning itself not just as a B2B e-commerce platform, but as a cross-border trade enabler with the infrastructure to connect Africa’s commodity supply with international demand. It’s a bold move that may prove to be a blueprint for other tech firms navigating Africa’s difficult operating environment—and a signal that the continent’s most successful startups might be those that build for the world, not just for their neighborhood.