Twiga Foods enters administration as Kenya startup runs out of room to restructure
Twiga Foods has entered administration in Kenya, putting one of the country's best-funded startups under the control of an administrator after several years of job cuts, funding problems and changes to its business.
Twiga Foods Pic
Twiga Foods has entered administration in Kenya, putting one of the country's best-funded startups under the control of an administrator after several years of job cuts, funding problems and changes to its business. The company is now facing a process that will determine what happens to its assets, creditors and remaining operations.
The Kenya Gazette said GT Flow Limited, the company formerly known as Twiga Foods One Limited, entered administration on 17 August. Mohamed Mohamed was appointed administrator and has taken control of the company's business, assets and affairs. Twiga's directors can no longer deal with company assets without his permission. Creditors have 30 days to submit their claims.
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Twiga Foods has entered administration in Kenya, putting one of the country's best-funded startups under the control of an administrator after several years of job cuts, funding problems and changes to its business. The company is now facing a process that will determine what happens to its assets, creditors and remaining operations.
The Kenya Gazette said GT Flow Limited, the company formerly known as Twiga Foods One Limited, entered administration on 17 August. Mohamed Mohamed was appointed administrator and has taken control of the company's business, assets and affairs. Twiga's directors can no longer deal with company assets without his permission. Creditors have 30 days to submit their claims. The notice does not explain how much money GT Flow owes or give a breakdown of its assets. It also does not say whether the administration extends to three distributors Twiga brought into its group last year. That leaves some of the most important questions about the business unanswered.
Twiga had already changed its business
“Twiga spent years changing its business. Now an administrator is deciding what remains.”
Twiga was not operating the same business it had built when it became one of Kenya's best-known startups. The company started in 2014, founded by Peter Njonjo and Grant Brooke. Its business was built around supplying small shops and informal retailers with food and other everyday products. Instead of relying on several layers of distributors and middlemen, Twiga used technology to connect suppliers with retailers and organise deliveries.
The model required a lot of physical infrastructure and cash. Products had to be bought, stored and delivered, while the company had to keep paying suppliers and employees. Twiga attracted about $185.4 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. But by 2023, the company was cutting jobs and dealing with unpaid obligations. It also became involved in a dispute with cloud services provider Incentro. In December 2023, Twiga raised $35 million through a convertible bond backed by existing investors Creadev and Juven. The company said the money would help it pay suppliers and stabilise its finances. Njonjo later said he had put $1 million of his own money into the company. He left the board in early 2024, with former Jumia executive Charles Ballard becoming CEO. The cuts continued.
Then came another restructuring
Rather than continue with the same model, Twiga began building a different type of business. In 2025, it acquired controlling stakes in three Kenyan FMCG distributors Jumra, Sojpar and Raisons. The three companies already had customers and distribution centres in Kenya. Twiga planned to keep them operating while sharing certain functions across the group, including procurement, technology and business intelligence. The plan was to use the existing distribution businesses instead of carrying all of the infrastructure itself.
Twiga was also looking at its own property and distribution footprint. The company considered leaving or renegotiating its Tatu City site and looked at possible locations in areas including Baba Dogo, Mombasa Road and Syokimau. The restructuring affected more than 300 employees. At the time, Twiga described the changes as part of a move towards a leaner business with better margins and working capital.
The company now has a different problem
Administration changes who is making decisions about the company's assets. Mohamed Mohamed is now responsible for the business, and creditors have been asked to come forward with their claims. What happens to the wider Twiga group will depend partly on how its companies and assets were structured. Jumra, Sojpar and Raisons were acquired as separate businesses, and Twiga had said they would continue serving their existing customers. The Gazette notice does not clarify whether those companies are part of the administration of GT Flow.
That distinction could determine how much of Twiga's distribution network remains operational. Twiga's financial problems did not appear suddenly. The company spent years raising money, expanding its distribution operation and then cutting costs when that model became difficult to sustain. It changed leadership, raised more money, reduced its workforce and eventually changed the structure of the business itself. Now the company has reached the point where an administrator is in charge. For the retailers, suppliers, employees and other businesses that still depend on Twiga, the next question is simple: which parts of the business will still be there when the administration process is finished?
