News Summary

African B2B e-commerce startup Sabi has laid off approximately 20% of its workforce, equating to about 50 employees, as part of a strategic pivot from its retail-focused platform to concentrate on traceable and ethically sourced commodity exports. The restructuring aligns with Sabi’s launch of a new business vertical called TRACE (Technology Rails for African Commodity Exchange), which targets the export of minerals and agricultural products like lithium, cobalt, tin, and cash crops. This shift comes after Sabi’s successful $38 million Series B funding round, which valued the company at $300 million. The company, originally launched in Lagos in 2020, has grown to support over 300,000 merchants and boasts an annualized GMV of $1 billion. Sabi’s pivot represents a broader trend among African commerce platforms seeking sustainability through global trade infrastructure, promising higher margins and clearer profitability paths, despite the internal changes it necessitates.