Daniel Yu, the founder of B2B e-commerce platform Wasoko, is transitioning from his role as CEO, marking the latest in a series of high-profile leadership changes across Africa’s tech landscape. Yu’s departure after 11 years at the helm follows Wasoko’s landmark merger with Egyptian counterpart MaxAB and coincides with the combined entity’s strategic shift from logistics to financial services.
“After more than 11 incredible years building Wasoko, and completing our landmark merger last year with MaxAB, I’ve decided to transition out of my full-time role at the company,” Yu announced in a public statement. He will remain involved with the company while its co-CEO, Belal EL-Megharbel, takes sole leadership.
Yu stated he is relocating to India to join his fiancée and will also take on a new role as board chair at Malengo, a nonprofit focused on international education.
His move is not an isolated event but rather the latest example of a pattern where long-serving founders at some of the continent’s most recognised startups — including Yoco, mPharma, and Elmenus — are handing over the reins. The trend suggests the African tech ecosystem is entering a new stage, where the skills required to scale and professionalise operations are taking precedence over the initial vision needed to launch.
Yu’s transition comes as MaxAB-Wasoko doubles down on fintech as its primary growth engine. The company recently secured a financial services license from the Central Bank of Egypt, allowing it to facilitate cash deposits and withdrawals for the thousands of informal retailers on its platform.
This move underscores a significant operational pivot. In Egypt, the group’s financial services arm already generates over $180 million in annual turnover and has disbursed more than $20 million in working capital loans with a claimed repayment rate of over 99%.
“We’ve seen our fintech services in Egypt more than double in the past year,” Yu noted before his departure announcement. “It’s become our strongest value driver and will remain our top priority across all markets for the next 12 months.”
This strategy is being replicated across the company’s footprint. In Morocco, MaxAB-Wasoko is scaling back its traditional e-commerce activities to concentrate solely on fintech. The recent acquisition of Fatura, a Cairo-based fintech marketplace, further cements this direction, bringing embedded lending infrastructure and a new equity partnership with regional investment firm EFG Holding.
However, investor sentiment remains measured. In the first quarter of 2025, Wasoko backer VNV Global marked down the value of its 2.1% stake by 4% to $10 million, signalling caution around the B2B e-commerce sector’s challenging, low-margin economics. The pivot to higher-margin fintech appears to be a direct response to this reality.
A Pattern of Strategic Handovers
The leadership change at Wasoko mirrors several other recent transitions across the continent:
- Yoco (South Africa): Co-founder Katlego Maphai recently stepped down as CEO after more than a decade, stating that “the skills and energy needed to start and build a company are not always the same as those required to scale it.” The company is now led by his co-founders.
- mPharma (Ghana): After 11 years, founder Gregory Rockson transitioned to Chairman of the Board. The new CEO, former COO Kwesi Arhin, brings a strong finance and operational background, signalling a shift from rapid expansion towards sustainable growth after the company conducted layoffs in late 2023.
- Elmenus (Egypt): Founder Amir Allam stepped down after 14 years, replaced by Walid El-Saadany, the former head of its main competitor, Talabat. The move is a clear strategic play to bring in seasoned leadership to navigate an intensely competitive market.
Why Now?
This wave of CEO transitions points to several underlying factors shaping the African tech ecosystem:
The skills required to build a product from zero — grit, vision, and agility — often differ from those needed to manage a large, complex organisation, which demand expertise in governance, process, and operational efficiency.
Again, as companies mature and raise significant later-stage capital, investors often push for seasoned executives with a track record of managing large profit and loss statements (P&Ls) and preparing companies for a successful exit, either via an IPO or a strategic acquisition.
These planned handovers are also a sign of a maturing market. Unlike the disruptive ousting of founders seen in cases like the collapse of Egyptian startup Capiter in 2022, the current transitions are strategic and deliberate, designed for long-term stability. For many founders, after a decade-long marathon, stepping aside is also a personal choice to avoid burnout.
This trend is less a signal of trouble and more an indicator of evolution. Africa’s first generation of venture-backed startups is confronting the challenges of scale, and their founders are pragmatically opting for new leadership to guide the next chapter. Successfully navigating the transition from a founder-led mission to a professionally managed corporation will be a crucial test for building the resilient, enduring companies the ecosystem needs.