MarketForce
MarketForce is a Nairobi-based B2B retail-tech company operating the RejaReja mobile platform, which delivers digital distribution and payment services to consumer brands seeking last-mile distribution efficiency across Kenya, Nigeria, and East Africa's informal neighbourhood merchant networks.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What MarketForce does
MarketForce is a Nairobi-headquartered B2B retail-technology company founded in 2018 that operates the RejaReja mobile platform, a digital distribution and payment services product designed to optimize last-mile distribution and sales efficiency for consumer brands selling into Africa's informal neighbourhood merchant networks. The company serves consumer brand clients across Kenya, Nigeria, and broader East Africa, using a direct enterprise field-sales go-to-market motion to onboard brands onto RejaReja for digital distribution, payment processing, and sales tracking. Its revenue model is structured as recurring platform services to consumer brands, though pricing is not publicly disclosed.
The company's underlying technology is a mobile-first platform tailored to the constraints of African retail distribution, integrating distribution logistics with payment services to address last-mile inefficiency, limited digital payment options for informal retail, and weak sales visibility for brands. In June 2021 MarketForce acquired Digiduka, a Kenyan ecommerce entity, to deepen its digital distribution capabilities within Kenya. The company's investor base includes Y Combinator, SOSV, V8 Capital Partners (lead of the $40M Series A in February 2022), Future Africa, TEN13, Reflect Ventures, Google for Startups, and Harambeans, with cumulative disclosed funding exceeding $60M across pre-seed, seed, pre-Series A, and Series A rounds between 2020 and 2023.
MarketForce positions itself as a "B2B SuperApp for Africa's neighbourhood merchants," targeting the fragmented downstream of consumer goods distribution where neighbourhood retailers and informal merchants form a large share of retail volume. The company employs 101-250 staff and is led operationally by COO Beniamino Bruno and VP of Engineering Nii Larb; co-founder Tesh Mbaabu is reported to have transitioned out to Cloud9. The business model combines SaaS-style platform fees with payment and distribution services, positioning the company at the intersection of B2B commerce, fintech rails, and African retail digitization.
MarketForce firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MarketForce
- Website
- https://marketforce.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- MarketForce is a Nairobi-based B2B retail-tech company operating the RejaReja mobile platform, which delivers digital distribution and payment services to consumer brands seeking last-mile distribution efficiency across Kenya, Nigeria, and East Africa's informal neighbourhood merchant networks.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MarketForce industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Technology / B2B Distribution Software
- NAICS
- Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers (4251)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)
Keywords
Where MarketForce is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
MarketForce business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Platform Services: MarketForce generates revenue by providing digital distribution and payment services to consumer brands through their RejaReja platform, enabling last-mile distribution optimization.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
MarketForce product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MarketForce builds and operates the RejaReja mobile platform, a digital distribution and payment services solution for consumer brands seeking to optimize last-mile distribution and sales efficiency across African informal retail markets. The company sells access to this B2B platform to consumer brands, enabling them to reach neighbourhood merchants with digital ordering, distribution, and payment workflows across Kenya, Nigeria, and East Africa.
Product overview
MarketForce offers a unified retail-tech platform focused on improving last-mile distribution and sales efficiency for consumer brands in Africa. The company's primary offering is the RejaReja platform, which enables digital distribution and payment services. MarketForce previously acquired Digiduka to strengthen its Kenyan ecommerce presence. The company leverages mobile platforms to optimize last-mile distribution and serves consumer brands across Nigeria and East Africa.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RejaReja: Digital distribution and payment services platform for consumer brands across Africa.
Products and services
- RejaReja RejaReja is MarketForce's digital distribution and payment services platform that enables consumer brands to optimize last-mile distribution and sales efficiency when reaching neighbourhood merchants across Africa. It is targeted at consumer brands (manufacturers and FMCG companies) operating in Kenya, Nigeria, and East Africa.
Companies that use MarketForce
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
MarketForce technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
MarketForce partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DigidukacoreMarketForce acquired Digiduka, a Kenyan ecommerce entity, to strengthen its position in the Kenyan retail-tech sector and enhance digital distribution capabilities.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MarketForce competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wasoko (formerly Sokowatch): Wasoko is a B2B e-commerce platform delivering goods to informal retailers across East and West Africa, with a near-identical last-mile distribution and embedded-payments model. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to MarketForce's RejaReja platform.
- Twiga Foods: Twiga Foods is a Kenya-headquartered B2B distribution platform connecting FMCG producers and farmers with thousands of small retailers in Nairobi and beyond. It overlaps directly with MarketForce on geography, customer (informal merchants), and value proposition (digital ordering + payments).
- MaxAB: MaxAB operates a B2B food and grocery distribution platform serving informal retailers across North Africa (Egypt, Morocco). It shares the same B2B marketplace + embedded payments + last-mile logistics model as MarketForce, with a regional rather than direct overlap.
- TradeDepot: TradeDepot is a Nigerian B2B platform connecting consumer goods manufacturers with retailers through digital ordering, inventory financing, and distribution. It is a direct competitor in MarketForce's Nigeria expansion territory with a closely matched product and customer base.
- Chari: Chari is a Morocco-based B2B e-commerce and fintech app for small traditional shops, offering ordering, credit, and delivery. While geographically distinct, it pursues the same informal-merchant digitisation thesis and operating model as MarketForce.
- Copia Global: Copia is a B2C distribution and e-commerce platform serving lower-income consumers and small retailers across East Africa. It overlaps with MarketForce on the merchant and last-mile distribution model in Kenya, though it leans more consumer-facing.
- Alerzo: Alerzo is a Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform supplying fast-moving consumer goods to informal retailers via embedded credit and logistics. It competes with MarketForce's Nigeria operations and shares the FMCG-to-neighbourhood-merchant distribution thesis.
Broad incumbents
- Jumia: Jumia is Africa's largest e-commerce platform, operating a pan-African marketplace with logistics, payments (JumiaPay), and on-demand services. It is a broad incumbent in the same consumer-B2B digital commerce space where MarketForce operates, though its core focus is B2C.
- Flutterwave: Flutterwave is a leading African payments infrastructure company providing APIs for businesses to make and receive payments across the continent. It is a broad incumbent in the embedded-payments and merchant-services space where MarketForce's RejaReja operates, though Flutterwave is a horizontal payments layer rather than a vertical distribution platform.
- M-KOPA: M-KOPA is a Kenya-headquartered fintech providing pay-as-you-go financing for smartphones, solar, and other essential goods via a large network of informal retail agents. It overlaps with MarketForce on the African informal-merchant financing and embedded-credit adjacency.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MarketForce social profiles
Digital presenceMarketForce financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MarketForce leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
MarketForce subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
MarketForce funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds13 records
Investors27 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MarketForce M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MarketForce
What does MarketForce do?
MarketForce builds and operates the RejaReja mobile platform, a digital distribution and payment services solution for consumer brands seeking to optimize last-mile distribution and sales efficiency across African informal retail markets. The company sells access to this B2B platform to consumer brands, enabling them to reach neighbourhood merchants with digital ordering, distribution, and payment workflows across Kenya, Nigeria, and East Africa.
Is MarketForce a public or private company?
MarketForce is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was MarketForce founded?
MarketForce was founded in 2018. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is MarketForce based?
MarketForce is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does MarketForce make money?
One revenue line is on record: platform Services.
Who are MarketForce's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wasoko (formerly Sokowatch), Twiga Foods, MaxAB, TradeDepot, Chari, Copia Global and Alerzo. Broad incumbents are Jumia, Flutterwave and M-KOPA.
Does MarketForce have an API?
No public API is recorded for MarketForce.
What industry is MarketForce in?
MarketForce's product category is Retail Technology / B2B Distribution Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAGAD, B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms. Its NAICS code is 4251 and its SIC code is 7370.