His decision comes one year after Wasoko’s landmark merger with Egypt’s MaxAB, which created Africa’s largest B2B digital platform for informal retail.

Announcing the move in a LinkedIn post, Yu said: “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.”

From Startup to $625 Million Valuation

Since launching in 2013, Daniel Yu scaled Wasoko into a $625 million business backed by Tiger Global, Silver Lake, and British International Investment. The company raised over $230 million in funding and connected 450,000 merchants to 65 million consumers across Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, and Morocco.

The merger with MaxAB bolstered operations but came with heavy restructuring. In late 2023, Wasoko laid off over 100 staff, closed its Zanzibar office, and suspended operations in Uganda and Zambia. 

Senior Kenyan executives, including the CFO, CTO, and Head of HR, also exited earlier this year as the combined business shifted leadership to Cairo, where MaxAB co-founder Belal El-Megharbel now leads as CEO.

Yu’s Continued Role and Focus on Profitability

Although leaving daily operations, Yu confirmed he will remain involved in an advisory capacity: “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.”

Across African tech, startups are moving from chasing growth through gross merchandise volume to focusing on sustainable profitability.

Relocating to India and Leading Malengo

Yu’s departure is also impacted by personal commitments. He revealed that he is relocating to India to join his fiancée, Rachel Abbott, as they prepare for their wedding. At the same time, he will expand his work as board chair of Malengo, a nonprofit that funds international education for low-income students to help break cycles of poverty.

“On a personal note, I’m relocating to India to join my amazing fiancée, Rachel Abbott, as we plan our wedding and life together ahead. Alongside this, I’m excited to further step into my recent appointment as board chair at Malengo, a truly innovative nonprofit eliminating extreme poverty through international education.”

What Daniel Yu’s Exit Means for Wasoko

Yu’s transition is a huge shift for Wasoko, which has positioned itself as a key player in Africa’s $600 billion informal retail sector. With MaxAB at the fore and Cairo as its operational centre, the company is doubling down on digital payments, credit financing, and AI-powered e-commerce tools.

For Daniel Yu, this closes a chapter defined by building one of Africa’s biggest retail-tech stories, while opening another focused on global impact through education and poverty reduction.

The company is building what it calls a “network of networks” to rewire traditional trade in Africa by digitising order management and embedded financial services for retailers, distributors, and manufacturers.

The funding round was jointly led by Norfund, a Norwegian development finance institution, and Timon Capital, a Lagos-based venture capital firm. Ventures Platform, Aruwa Capital, Goodwell Investments (via Alitheia Capital), and Flour Mills of Nigeria also participated. 

This is Norfund’s first direct equity investment in an African startup.

Founded in 2019 by Deepankar Rustagi, OmniRetail has so far raised $38 million in equity and debt. Its platform connects 145 manufacturers, more than 5,800 distributors, and over 150,000 informal retailers across 12 cities. 

Retailers use the app to place orders, get working capital, and process digital payments, backed by a logistics network of over 1,100 vehicles and 85 warehouse partners.

So far, the company has been profitable, becoming EBITDA positive in 2023. By 2024, it turned net profitable, a rare achievement among African startups. 

Rustagi attributed the success to efficient asset use within their network model. “The profitability journey was an outcome of our efficiency on utilising the assets that we aggregated in the network, and this has proven that the model that we put together as a ‘network of networks’ is profitable and is highly scalable,” he said. 

“That’s the reason we went ahead and raised the capital to finally put the metal on the pedal and scale in more geographies and more categories. We’re expanding now not just to grow, but to optimise.”

Rustagi, speaking alongside OmniRetail’s head of investment, Archit Bagaria, said the leadership team’s deep experience in FMCG retail helped them to build an edge. Bagaria explained, “For years, goods have been moving from point A to point B, but the lack of transparency has hindered financial inclusion and caused inefficiencies in the process.”

A key shift came when OmniRetail expanded beyond commerce into embedded finance. Rather than rushing into offering credit like many of its peers, the company waited until it had critical mass. This discipline paid off. 

Last year, OmniRetail processed transactions worth over ₦1.3 trillion ($810 million) and now disburses ₦19 billion ($12 million) monthly in inventory credit through its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service, Omnipay, with almost no defaults.

In 2024, OmniRetail acquired Traction Apps, a Nigerian merchant solution platform. This gave OmniRetail full-stack payment capabilities, including POS terminals, payment licenses, and access to granular sales data from retailers. 

It also offered OmniRetail the ability to build financial profiles of individual retailers and offer customised credit solutions.

Rustagi said, “Every transaction in the FMCG value chain has two sides: the movement of goods and the movement of funds. Today, we are in a position to aggregate maximum benefits from every transaction in the value chain. Our plan is to dive deep into the value chain and maximise margins. International players have done well in their markets, and we’re bringing that model to Nigeria today.”

OmniRetail no longer reports GMV (gross merchandise volume), a common metric for startups. Instead, the company says it grew net merchandise volume (NMV) by 35% and revenue by 40% over the past year, all while staying profitable. This decision shows a transition in strategy towards sustainable growth rather than flashy but empty numbers.

The fresh capital injection will help OmniRetail expand into product categories like personal care, home care, and cold storage. The investment will also flow into improving infrastructure, credit underwriting, and stronger partnerships with local debt providers.

Bagaria revealed that the next moves include a solid debt raise for inventory finance and strategic acquisitions. “Some of our next moves are laser-focused: a solid debt raise for inventory finance, strategic acquisitions, and relentless profitable growth,” he said.

Norfund’s Investor Director, Cathrine Conradi, said, “Embedded finance is one of the most transformative tools for small business growth in Africa. OmniRetail’s model brings capital to areas where traditional systems haven’t reached.”

Meanwhile, Timon Capital, an early backer, said, “OmniRetail has now hit an inflexion point in distribution, payments, and credit, showing just how much profitable growth they can generate with their expanding footprint.”

OmniRetail wants to be the go-to traditional retail platform across West Africa, not by tearing down the old system, but by making it more efficient, more transparent, and more profitable.