Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup, Lipa Later, has been placed under administration after failing to secure the funding needed to sustain its operations.
According to local reports, the company was placed under administration in March 2025, with Joy Vipinchandra Bhatt from Moore JVB Consulting LLP, appointed as the administrator. Creditors have until April 2025 to submit their claims.
“We are currently engaging all key stakeholders of the company to elicit their cooperation in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the company,” Bhatt said.
Founded in 2018, Lipa Later set out to empower African businesses by facilitating e-commerce, financial inclusion, and shopping through a centralized, fully integrated platform. The startup provides consumer credit, working capital, and e-commerce solutions for merchants.
The startup raised $3.4 million privately placed debt issuance in September 2023, which came after acquiring the online retailer, Sky.Garden, for KES 250 million ($1.6 million), then revamping it with new features to launch a rebranded e-commerce ecosystem.
FUNDING | Kenyan Buy Now Pay Later Fintech, Lipa Later, Secures $3.4 Million Further Demonstrating BNPL Potential in Africa
The BNPL sector has received interest in recent months across the continent with the likes of Peach Payments (South Africa), Blnk (Egypt), and… pic.twitter.com/iiV3w7SngI
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) October 3, 2023
At the time of its $3.4 million debt round, Lipa Later aimed to raise additional funding. However, due to a global capital shortage, the company was unable to secure further investment, ultimately leaving it unable to pay employees and suppliers.
One such case saw London-based consultancy firm Africa Foresight Group (AFG) sue Lipa Later last year over an unpaid $13, 516 consultancy fee.
The startup’s predicament reflects a broader trend of startup challenges in Kenya, where several promising ventures have faced similar fates in recent years.
As we previously covered, the following were some prominent Kenyan startups that closed some or all of their operations due to difficult market conditions as well as funding hitches:
- SkyGarden: An e-commerce platform that, after five years of operation, announced a planned shutdown on October 16, 2022, following a failed funding round.
- Sendy: A logistics and commerce startup that, in 2022, closed its retail and supplier platform, Sendy Supply, and reduced its workforce by 20%, citing a funding drought and increased lending costs.
- WeFarm: An agritech company that discontinued its online shop for farm products in July 2022 due to challenging market conditions, despite experiencing significant demand and growth over the preceding nine months.
- Notify Logistics: A startup that pioneered the rent-a-shelf model in Kenya, offering affordable shelf space to businesses. In July 2022, it ceased operations, struggling to break even amid high operational costs.
- Kune Food: A food-tech startup that shut down in June 2022, less than a year after commencing operations. Despite raising over $1 million in pre-seed funding, it collapsed due to high operational costs and an unsustainable pricing model.
- iProcure: An agritech startup that filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 after being placed under administration due to mounting unpaid debts. Despite raising $10.2 million in Series B funding in 2022, the company struggled with financial sustainability.
- Copia Global: An e-commerce platform that began winding up its operations in Kenya in September 2024 after a decade in business. Despite raising over $120 million and expanding across Kenya and Uganda, high operational costs and reliance on continuous capital infusions led to its closure.
Why Did 7 Promising Kenyan
Kenya, which is one of the big 4 receivers of startup capital in Africa, is usually described as ‘Silicon Savannah.’https://t.co/Y5ORucArje pic.twitter.com/nAzBOtxeph
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) October 19, 2022
In the case of Lipa Later, despite its later funding challenges, the firm had previously enjoyed strong investor backing.
Even before the aforementioned 2023 round, it had secured $12 million in seed funding in January 2022 from Cauris, Lateral Frontiers, and others, alongside undisclosed debt from the same investors. Earlier rounds included seed investments from Orbit Startups in 2021 and Founders Factory Africa in 2019.
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