E-commerce Startup ZUMI Closes Shop

E-commerce startup ZUMI has shut down., becoming the 7th startup to close shop in Kenya due to lack of funding.

William McCarren, ZUMI’s Co-Founder, and CEO commenting on the closure, said,” The current macro environment has made fundraising extremely difficult. Unfortunately, our business was not able to achieve sustainability in time to survive.”

Zumi first started in 2016 as a women-focused digital magazine before pivoting to an e-commerce apparel platform after struggling with digital advertisement revenue.

This is the 7th Kenyan startup after Kune Foods, WeFarm, BRCK, Notify Logistics, and Sky-Garden, who closed shop in 2022 due to a tough economic environment.

Before its sudden closure, ZUMI had built a solid marketplace for apparel merchants to secure inventory and financial services that achieved over $20m in sales. The company also acquired 5,000 loyal customers within the period. Zumi had built a team of 150 people with experience from major companies in Kenya like Jumia and Twiga Foods.