Ciku Mugambi, the CEO of Kobo360 has resigned from her position after one year. Ciku joined Kobo360 in 2021 as Chief of Staff and Investor Relations, with over a decade of experience at the International Finance Corporation and KPMG. She named as the CEO after co-founder Obi Ozor’s exit in August 2023.
Founded in 2018, Kobo360 provides a platform that connects businesses with trucks for the efficient movement of products. The startup has since grown beyond its Nigerian roots with operations in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.
It has also worked with more than 30,000 trucks and 700 businesses and counts the International Finance Corporation, Y Combinator, TLcom Capital Partners, and Goldman Sachs as investors.
Ciku announced her exit on a company-wide call on October 29. According to Techcabal, at least three people with knowledge of the matter claimed there was some chatter about her impending resignation in the past week. On the call announcing her exit, Ciku also alluded to the difficulty in raising new funding.
The startup had a bright start, launching in 2017 and raising $6 million in a 2018 seed round led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). In 2019, it raised $30 million (equity and debt) from investors like TLCom, Y Combinator, and IFC in a Series A round.
Two people familiar with the company’s finances claimed that under Mugambi’s leadership, the company broke even in its Nigerian business. Yet, its attempts to raise funding hit a wall, those people said.