Daniel Yu, who co-founded Wasoko in 2013, is leaving his full-time role at the Kenyan B2B e-commerce company after over a decade of building it into one of Africa’s largest retail-tech startups. The move comes one year after Wasoko merged with Egypt’s MaxAB in an all-stock deal that created a regional leader in an active B2B supply chain market.
“After more than 11 incredible years building Wasoko, and completing our landmark merger last year with MaxAB, I’ve decided to transition out of my full-time role at the company,” Yu said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.
Yu said he will remain involved as an adviser but will no longer run day-to-day operations. MaxAB co-founder Belal El-Megharbel will continue as CEO, overseeing operations from Cairo, where the combined entity is headquartered.
“While I’m stepping back from day-to-day responsibilities, I’ll remain closely involved in helping the company reach new heights under Belal’s leadership,” he added.
Yu, who is relocating to India, said he will focus on personal projects, including his work as board chair of Malengo, a non-profit supporting international education.
Category-king merger
The Wasoko-MaxAB merger brought together two companies with nearly equal stakes and a shared goal of consolidating Africa’s fragmented retail distribution network. The business operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, and Morocco. In August 2024, it claimed to serve 450,000 merchants who reached 65 million consumers.
Wasoko executed multiple restructurings to integrate with MaxAB. In late 2023, it laid off over 100 employees, shut down its Zanzibar office, and paused operations in Uganda and Zambia. Key Kenyan executives, including Wasoko’s CFO, CTO, and head of HR, exited in early 2024.
Wasoko was last valued at $625 million and has raised more than $230 million from investors, including Tiger Global and Silver Lake. The merged business has so far declined to disclose its new valuation.
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