The food supply backed by YC the expulsion of food restructures employee salaries

And start of acquisition of Nigerian food backed by combinator Expectation It has changed its employee payment structure and is looking for fresh capital, has learned Techcrunch.

This is after saying goodbye 44% of its workforce – Around 120 employees – last month, marking your Second round of employment cuts in five months. In the last development, the startup has now replaced the traditional salaries of employees with a performance -based payment system, complemented by an option of sharing Equity Share (ESOP), according to internal documents seen by TechCrunch.

The five -year -old startup, which raised $ 30 million in your series A Directed by partch Africa and TLCom Capital, he said that restructuring was necessary to navigate profitability.

The new LifeSe Compensation Model includes a five -phase salary recovery plan, according to documents.

In February, all employees received a salary ₦ 140,000 (~ $ 90), regardless of the previous payment. From March to May, the company will raise employee salaries to 30% of the previous levels if they meet the performance objectives, although it has not specified these objectives, according to the documents.

Compensation will increase to 60% of previous wages from June to August and 90% from September to November, with a complete salary restoration expected in December again depending on the company’s performance objectives and employees.

The unpaid parts of the wages will become options of shares under the ESOP, with a 50% award for ten months and the rest for three years. But employees can only exercise these options in a fair market value approved by the Board, according to the employee agreement.

The company confirmed the changes in the payment of employees insisting that it is now at a balance point, even close to profitability.

“Videase has restructured both its business and its operations.

He says that changes are intended to encourage employee productivity, while the company grows more financially sustainable. “We only spend what we earn, which constantly keeps us at the point of balance and we focus on profitability,” added the spokesman.

With a little more than 150 remaining employees, Vesease is betting on internal restructuring, fresh capital and the efficiency driven by AI to reduce costs and maintain operations. As the company points out, this also means focusing more on the growth driven by software and doubling its sales and payments and credit market solutions, while gradually eliminating storage and logistics operations.

Bet on BNPL to stay afloat

Founded in 2019 by Tunde Kara, Olumide Fayankin, Gatumi Aliyu and Wale Oyepeju, Sbanda proposed to rationalize the acquisition of food for African restaurants and food businesses.

The Startup said that it could eliminate inefficiencies in the food supply chain, which cost companies billion annually. By 2022, he had He moved 400,000 metric tons of food for more than 2,000 clientsHe said, saving them $ 2 million in acquisition costs and reduction of losses related to waste in almost $ 500,000 in Nigeria, his main market.

But the last two years have been brutal for sale and many new Nigerian companies without income called FX. Since his series A in September 2022, his income in La Naira de Nigeria has tripled, but the strong depreciation of the currency in the last three years has eliminated those profits in terms of dollars. Inflation has further increased operating costs, pressing profitability for intensive capital and people.

One of the main revenue promoters of Vetease in the last year has been its Buy product now, Pay later (BNPL). Traditional lenders often avoid food companies due to their volatility and fragmentation. But Vedease takes advantage of your knowledge of the supply chain to subscribe loans through its market, which connects financial institutions with food companies.

The company claims a non -1% breach rate in the last two years and has issued more than $ 70 million in credit As of September 2024.

When CFO Mohamed Chaudry joined in January 2024, it helped identify BNPL as a key path to profitability. However, despite some recent adjustments, the credit product alone does not seem to be enough to obtain a sale there.

His appointment also triggered the ongoing restructuring to harden financial controls and extend his cash, which, according to sources, can only last a few more months.

As such, the company is in conversations with existing and new investors to raise a bridge round, money that will use to finance the growth and expansion of technology instead of operating expenses.

Meanwhile, the fountains also say that Soldo has explored a potential sale to other players in the Horeca (hotels, restaurants and catering) and FMCG sectors.

The company, however, disputes this and insists that it is the other way around. “It is normal to approach M&A, especially when you are a fast -growing business that operates in a unique space like food, has approached life, but the founders focus on the scale, they are not sold soon,” said a spokesman.