Why TradeDepot Failed: Unit Economics | Startup Autopsy
€110M
Raised
8y
Time to collapse
€350M
Peak valuation
// startup autopsy
TradeDepot
The Nigeria B2B consumer goods distribution startup raised $110M from Tiger Global and Lightrock to digitize FMCG supply chains and became a zombie when naira devaluation and NPLs compounded its losses.
Evaluating only TradeDepot’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
TradeDepot founded
DOWN ROUND
Down round or bridge financing
SHUTDOWN
Zombie Startup: TradeDepot ceases operations
Full Analysis
Free · no account needed
Documented cause
TradeDepot built a technology-enabled distribution platform for FMCG brands to reach thousands of informal retailers across Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa. The company raised $110M from Tiger Global, Lightrock, and the IFC to scale its operations. Like similar B2B FMCG plays in Africa, TradeDepot faced brutal unit economics: distributor margins were thin, credit losses from informal retailers were high, and logistics costs in Lagos traffic made per-order economics difficult to close. The Nigerian naira devaluation from 2022-2024 (losing 70%+ of dollar value) made the business nearly impossible to run on dollar-denominated capital.
Lesson
“FMCG distribution startups in frontier African markets face a compounding problem: the informal retail infrastructure they serve is both their market and their biggest credit risk. TradeDepot extended credit to informal retailers who defaulted at rates that the thin distribution margins could not absorb.”