Kenyan Court Orders Marketforce to Pay $16K for Wrongful Termination

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALMarch 28, 2025 at 11:21 AM UTC

TLDR

Marketforce Technologies has been ordered to pay KES 2.1 million ($16,000) to former employee Tom Maina Chege for wrongful terminatio
Chege claimed the termination violated Kenya’s Employment Act due to insufficient notice and lack of notification to the Labour Office
Marketforce did not defend itself in court. Judge C.N. Baari awarded Chege KES 1.3 million ($10,000) in terminal dues and KES 800,000 ($6,000) in compensation and legal costs

Marketforce Technologies has been ordered to pay KES 2.1 million ($16,000) to former employee Tom Maina Chege for wrongful termination, according to a Kenyan court ruling issued nearly a year after the company shut down its B2B marketplace, RejaReja.

Chege, a product manager at Marketforce from January 2022 to August 2023, was laid off in July 2023. He claimed the termination violated Kenya’s Employment Act due to insufficient notice and lack of notification to the Labour Office. The court found that Marketforce failed to comply with legal redundancy procedures.

Marketforce did not defend itself in court. Judge C.N. Baari awarded Chege KES 1.3 million ($10,000) in terminal dues and KES 800,000 ($6,000) in compensation and legal costs. The ruling highlights ongoing uncertainty around the Y Combinator-backed startup, which raised over $40 million before exiting the B2B space in 2024. Co-founder Tesh Mbaabu has since launched a new venture, Chpter.

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Key Takeaways

The court ruling reveals more details about Marketforce’s internal struggles, including unpaid salaries, staff exits, and canceled supplier credit lines. The startup, once seen as a key B2B e-commerce player in Africa, shut down RejaReja after failing to navigate capital and operational pressures. Despite backing from global investors and having raised more than $40 million, Marketforce faced liquidity issues that triggered salary cuts and layoffs. The company’s failure to follow redundancy rules in Chege’s case further underlines poor internal controls during its downturn. This case is one of several recent examples showing how startup momentum can reverse quickly amid weak financial planning or market turbulence. While the status of Marketforce remains unclear, its co-founder has moved on to Chpter, a new social commerce platform that recently raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding. The broader takeaway is clear: strong fundraising doesn’t guarantee long-term success, especially in cash-intensive sectors like B2B commerce in emerging markets.

Startups

Marketforce

Kenya

B2B Ecommerce

Wrongful Termination