Nigeria: Sabi Sacks 20 Percent of Staff in Pivot to Traceable Commodity Supply Chains

23 June 2025
Daba Finance (Abidjan)

TLDR

  • Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup Sabi has laid off around 50 employees, roughly 20% of its workforce, as it pivots from broad merchant services to focus on TRACE
  • Sabi initially scaled to serve over 300,000 merchants, facilitating $1 billion+ in annualised GMV through logistics, financing, and digital tools
  • TRACE provides digital passports that track environmental, social, governance (ESG) metrics and certifications across the supply chain

Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup Sabi has laid off around 50 employees, roughly 20% of its workforce, as it pivots from broad merchant services to focus on TRACE, its blockchain-powered traceability platform for minerals and agricultural commodities. The layoffs affect multiple departments and are part of a broader restructuring strategy, TechCabal reported.

Founded in 2021, Sabi initially scaled to serve over 300,000 merchants, facilitating $1 billion+ in annualised GMV through logistics, financing, and digital tools. The startup raised $60 million, including a $38 million Series B in 2024 that valued it at $300 million.

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TRACE, built in partnership with Minespider, provides digital passports that track environmental, social, governance (ESG) metrics and certifications across the supply chain. The service targets global buyers seeking transparency and compliance in sourcing from Africa, especially in light of tightening international regulations on ethical minerals and agricultural trade.

"We're doubling down on the part of our business seeing the most demand," Sabi said in a statement. "While tough, this shift positions us for long-term success and ensures we remain focused on building scalable, responsible supply chains."

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Key Takeaways

Sabi's pivot reflects a growing demand for traceability solutions amid mounting global pressure to verify the origins of raw materials. As Western and Asian importers impose stricter ESG and anti-illicit sourcing rules, African exporters face increasing pressure to prove compliance. TRACE enters this space by digitising and standardising how commodities--especially from small-scale mines and farms--are recorded and verified. This move places Sabi in a high-growth niche as traceability becomes central to global trade, especially for critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and gold. While the layoffs mark a painful transition, the startup is repositioning itself to serve global supply chains increasingly reliant on digital compliance infrastructure. For investors, the pivot may signal a move from transactional e-commerce toward supply chain intelligence--a bet that could redefine Sabi's role in Africa's trade digitisation landscape.

Read the original article on Daba Finance.

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