Kapu, a social commerce startup, raised $8 million in seed funding. The company is hoping to help reduce the burden of buying food for Kenyan consumers by digitizing the informal retail sector in Kenya.

Kapu founder, Sam Chappatte, former Jumia Group executive vice president, said the startup has since inception in January this year been building a B2C e-commerce service that enables consumers to buy groceries at lower prices, through online and offline channels. By sourcing directly from manufacturers and producers, Kapu enables group bulk-buying of groceries and claims to help consumers save up to 30% of the spend on fresh produce and packaged consumer goods.

Kapu says it has 1,500 agent collection centers across Nairobi. The startup is now expanding its network of local agents so that consumers can place direct orders with them. Kapu’s agents, usually positioned within residential areas, tKenya-based social commerce startup Kapu gets $8M fuake customers’ orders and make deliveries the next day. The company is expected to support online direct-to-consumer (via WhatsApp) orders soon.

“Customers receive a notification from Kapu and also from the agents, to go pick up their goods. Many agents also deliver to consumers’ homes,” said Chappate.

The seed round was co-led by Giant Ventures and Firstminute Capital, with participation from Founder Collective, Base Capital, Norrsken (Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth’s fund), and Raven One. Sam Endacott, partner at Firstminute capital, said in a statement: “Sam is deeply experienced in both the e-commerce and logistics category and we are thrilled to partner with him and the entire Kapu team to help alleviate the cost-of-living crisis on the Continent for consumers, unlock social mobility and drive growth for SMEs in the region.”