Kenyan construction startup Jumba raises Ksh.117M pre-seed capital

The company said the funding will go towards building a digital business-to-business platform for the predominantly offline construction sector, targeting major cities across Kenya.

Launched in April, Jumba creates efficiency in the construction materials supply chain by connecting manufacturers to hardware stores, enabling them to restock seamlessly.

Because the company negotiates prices with the product manufacturers (including their markup), hardware store owners who place orders through Jumba’s platform benefit from standardised pricing, product selection and reliable delivery. 

Additionally, resellers pay for orders upon delivery.

“We have started to expand our products according to regional demands and the needs of hardware stores. The idea is to make Jumba the source of all construction materials in Kenya and, when we eventually grow, beyond its borders,” said Jumba co-founder and CEO Kagure Wamunyu.

The round was led by Enza Capital and saw participation of Seedstars International Ventures, Chandaria Capital, Future Africa, Logos Ventures and First Check Africa, alongside other angel investors. 

Wamunyu herself is a civil engineer and contractor and was part of the team rolling out local services for taxi-hailing service Uber.

Her co-founder and Jumba CTO Miano Njoka, meanwhile, is a software engineer who had previously co-invested with her in real estate projects.

Jumba is currently available in Nairobi, and has begun expansion to Garissa, Nakuru, Njoro and other urban centers. 

“We are expanding our work with suppliers to improve the availability of construction materials in Kenya and in East Africa,” Wamunyu said.

She added that Jumba will also ensure that small hardware stores will be connected to medium-sized ones near their regions to update their inventories due to challenges of space.

“We will partner with different retailers in different neighbourhoods who then can support the smaller ones, as opposed to working with a warehouse model. We will be supplying these big players and the smaller hardware stores will be picking their stock from these locations,” she said.

The startup said it is also mulling a buy now, pay later option (BNPL) to allow their best-performing clients to broaden their stock and increase their earnings.