Sabi Lays Off 20% of Staff as African E-Commerce Startup Pivots to Traceable Exports

Sabi Cuts 20% of Workforce as African Startup Pivots to Traceable Commodity Exports

African B2B e-commerce startup Sabi has laid off about 20% of its workforce as it restructures the business and shifts its focus toward traceable exports of African commodities.

The Lagos-based company, which has helped businesses across Africa buy and move goods, said the restructuring is intended to align its resources with the part of the business experiencing the strongest demand. About 50 employees were affected by the decision.

From e-commerce to commodity traceability

Sabi was launched in 2020 as a platform designed to help informal retailers digitise their businesses. It later grew into a B2B marketplace serving merchants with access to fast-moving consumer goods, logistics and financial services.

By 2023, the company said it had more than 300,000 merchants and an annualised gross merchandise value of more than $1 billion. Its growth also attracted significant investor backing, including a $38 million Series B round that valued the company at about $300 million.

But Sabi's latest strategy is moving away from its original broad e-commerce model.

The company is now placing greater emphasis on TRACE — Technology Rails for African Commodity Exchange, a platform designed to help global buyers verify where African commodities come from and how they move through the supply chain.

The platform focuses on commodities including minerals and agricultural products, with traceability becoming increasingly important to international buyers concerned about ethical sourcing, environmental standards and supply-chain transparency.

Why startups change direction after raising money

For startups, raising millions of dollars does not guarantee that the original business model will remain the best path forward.

Markets change. Customer behaviour changes. Costs increase, while some products may prove harder to scale profitably than expected.

African B2B e-commerce companies face particular challenges because moving physical goods requires logistics, working capital and reliable infrastructure. At the same time, margins can be thin, making rapid expansion expensive.

Sabi's experience shows that even a well-funded startup may eventually need to concentrate on the part of its business with the strongest demand and clearer prospects for sustainable growth.

That can mean difficult decisions, including reducing the size of a team.

For the employees affected, however, a restructuring is more than a business strategy. It means people losing jobs and having to navigate an uncertain next step. Sabi described the decision as difficult and expressed gratitude to departing employees whose work helped build the company.

A sign of pressure across African tech

Sabi's pivot also reflects a broader shift in Africa's technology ecosystem.

The era when startups could focus primarily on rapid expansion and user growth has increasingly given way to a stronger emphasis on sustainable business models, revenue and profitability.

For companies operating in commerce, the pressure can be particularly intense. Building large networks of merchants is valuable, but maintaining warehouses, logistics systems, financing and distribution networks can consume significant amounts of capital.

Sabi is betting that commodity exports offer another route.

Its TRACE business aims to solve a different problem: helping African producers and suppliers meet the verification and transparency requirements of international buyers. The company says it is already exporting more than 20,000 tonnes of commodities monthly to buyers in the United States, Europe and Asia.

What comes next for Sabi?

The pivot does not necessarily represent an abandonment of Sabi's original mission. Instead, the company is repositioning its technology and trade infrastructure around what it believes is a stronger opportunity.

For Africa, the shift could be significant. The continent has enormous agricultural and mineral resources, but connecting those resources to global markets requires more than simply having commodities available. Buyers increasingly want evidence of origin, quality and responsible sourcing.

Sabi's new strategy is built around providing that information.

The immediate story, however, remains a human one. Around 50 people are leaving a company they helped build, even as Sabi attempts to create a more focused and sustainable future.

Its experience offers a clear lesson for Africa's startup ecosystem: raising capital can help a company grow, but surviving the next stage often depends on knowing when — and how — to change direction.

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