Bid of $24.5 million by Engage Capital aims to resurrect Lipa Later from administration
Engage Capital Proposes $24.5 Million Bid to Revive Lipa Later
Engage Capital has submitted a bid worth $24.5 million to acquire Lipa Later, a Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup that entered administration in March 2025 due to financial distress and operational challenges. This bid is currently the highest among three competing offers and is under review by the appointed administrators, Moore JVB Consulting.
The proposed deal includes acquiring Lipa Later’s technology platform, customer base, intellectual property, regulatory licenses, and selected liabilities, but explicitly excludes the toxic or non-performing loan book. Engage Capital aims to relaunch Lipa Later with a cleaner balance sheet and a restructured business model, potentially marking one of the rare successful turnarounds of a Kenyan tech startup coming out of insolvency.
Lipa Later was founded in 2018 by Eric Muli and Michael Maina. The startup had raised approximately $16.6 million over 10 funding rounds by 2024, including a notable $12 million seed round in January 2022 led by investors such as Cauris and Lateral Frontiers. Despite this backing, the firm collapsed due to unpaid debts and costly acquisitions like that of Sky.Garden, and failed to secure further funding in 2024, leading to administration.
If Engage Capital’s acquisition is approved and successfully executed, it could positively impact the Kenyan startup ecosystem by demonstrating a viable recovery path for distressed tech firms, breaking the pattern where insolvency typically results in liquidation and long, unresolved legal disputes. It could also signal increased investor confidence and willingness to restructure struggling startups rather than letting them fail outright, which might foster greater innovation and stability in Kenya’s fintech sector.
In summary, Engage Capital’s $24.5 million bid to acquire and revive Lipa Later encompasses key assets and excludes bad debts, positioning it as a potentially transformative deal in Kenya’s startup market by offering a blueprint for turnaround success following insolvency.
References:
- Business Daily Africa
- TechCrunch
- Techpoint Africa
- TechCabal
Engage Capital's plan, if approved, may bring a fresh influx of venture capital into Lipa Later, bolstering its financial situation and supporting its technology-driven business. Successful execution of this deal could potentially prove instrumental in restoring investor confidence in Kenya's technology sector, encouraging more ventures in the fintech industry.
