In a world where the venture capital boom has been followed by a sharp downturn, startups that once seemed poised for success are now grappling with the harsh realities of insolvency. For some, liquidation doesn’t mean the end; rather, it’s an opportunity for competitors or even founders themselves to pick up the pieces. One of the most notable recent examples is the story of Gro Intelligence, a once-promising agtech startup that, like many before it, had to sell its intellectual property (IP) to stay afloat.
Last year, Gro Intelligence, the agtech darling founded by Sarah Menker, was struggling to stay operational. After raising $85 million in a 2021 Series B round, the company had ambitious plans to build an AI-driven agricultural data platform that used satellite imagery and weather reports to offer insights to farmers. But financial troubles, employee disputes, and a strained relationship with investors led to its collapse in 2024.
This collapse reinforces a growing trend in Africa’s startup ecosystem — IP asset sales. Rival firm Almanac, a global leader in agricultural data analytics, swooped in, acquiring Gro’s core AI models and data platforms for a fraction of their original development cost. While it wasn’t a full-blown rescue, this move allowed Almanac to instantly bolster its offering with Gro’s sophisticated technology, enabling it to expand into new markets like agricultural insurance and trading. Almanac CEO Sumer Johal described the acquisition as a “quantum leap,” highlighting the strategic value of acquiring a competitor’s assets at a bargain price.
For Gro’s investors, employees, and founders, however, it was a harsh reality check. What was once a $1.3 billion valuation was reduced to a liquidation auction, but the deal still provided some salvageable value, offering a way to recover some of the company’s losses. It’s a scenario that is becoming all too familiar in Africa’s tech landscape.
The New Normal: IP Fire Sales
As tech startups in Africa and beyond face financial pressures, IP sales have emerged as a viable route for distressed companies to recoup value. This trend is not just about rival firms picking up market share; it reflects a new phase of creative destruction, where assets outlive the companies that created them.
One example comes from Sky Garden, a Kenyan e-commerce platform that, after raising over $6 million, found itself facing insolvency in 2024. In a move that mirrored Gro’s situation, fintech platform Lipa Later acquired Sky Garden’s platform to fast-track its own e-commerce ambitions. The acquisition, which included a ready-made merchant network and customer base, allowed Lipa Later to expand its business while also rescuing Sky Garden’s employees from job losses.
Yet, Lipa Later’s own trajectory has been similarly rocky, with the company entering administration in March 2025. The unfolding of this story demonstrates how even IP sales can be a short-term solution, and the final outcome can still be uncertain. In this case, the Kenyan VC firm Engage Capital has since expressed interest in acquiring Lipa Later’s assets, including its technology platform and IP.
Founder Buybacks: A Path to Redemption?
Not all asset sales involve external acquirers. In some cases, the founders themselves take the reins in an attempt to reclaim their company’s future. iProcure, an East African agritech firm, faced financial trouble in April 2024 after failing to meet its financial obligations. Despite the company being placed under administration, the founding team successfully reacquired the company’s core technology, which was seen as the real value, not the operational business.
In a remarkable twist, iProcure’s loyal customer base, composed of over 6,000 agro-dealers, stepped in to support the company by voluntarily paying subscription fees when they learned of its troubles. This allowed the founders to focus on rebuilding the company around the technology that had been at the core of its success. This “founder buyback” scenario highlights the importance of knowing which assets are worth saving and where a company’s true value lies.
The Dark Side: Cases Where IP Sales Have Failed
Not all IP sales, however, result in a revival. The story of Bizao, a Paris-based payment infrastructure startup focused on Francophone Africa, serves as an exemplary tale. Despite raising an €8 million Series A in 2022 and processing millions of transactions, Bizao became insolvent by early 2025. Attempts to sell the company’s assets failed, as the complexity of its technology — heavily integrated with telecoms and banks across multiple countries — made it difficult for potential buyers to extract any value.
The French commercial court ordered Bizao into compulsory liquidation, with no buyers stepping forward. Insiders argue that the company’s infrastructure-heavy model, which required expensive integrations and bespoke solutions, offered little immediate value to potential acquirers. Unlike Gro or Sky Garden, Bizao’s IP was too deeply embedded in complex systems to be easily repurposed, and its assets were ultimately written off.
Perhaps the most high-profile and legally complex case of IP sales gone awry comes from Nigeria’s 54gene, a genomics startup that once commanded a $170 million valuation. In 2023, the company imploded amidst internal governance issues and a fight over its assets, including sensitive genetic data from 100,000 Nigerians.
Founder Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong fought to block the sale of the company’s assets, accusing its largest investors — Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund and Adjuvant Capital — of orchestrating the company’s collapse to seize control. Allegations of forced founder exits, rejection of buyout offers, and predatory loan terms have turned what could have been a straightforward asset sale into a protracted legal battle.
The situation at 54gene serves as a stark reminder of the importance of governance in a company’s survival. Poor investor relations and internal power struggles not only led to the company’s downfall but also blocked any attempt to extract value from its remaining assets. The mess that followed has left the company’s future in limbo, raising questions about the fate of highly sensitive data and the ethical considerations surrounding its sale.
Key Takeaways for Africa’s Startup Ecosystem
The rise of IP fire sales has profound implications for African startups and their investors. Here are several lessons that can be drawn from recent collapses:
- Your Technology Has an Afterlife: Even when a company collapses, its core technology can still have value. As demonstrated by Gro Intelligence and Sky Garden, well-developed platforms and proprietary models can be a lifeline for creditors and acquirers alike.
- Not All IP is Liquid: Bizao’s failed auction proves that not all IP is easily sellable. The most attractive assets are those that can be integrated or used independently of the surrounding business infrastructure.
- Governance is Crucial: The 54gene debacle illustrates how poor governance can not only destroy a company but also block attempts to salvage any remaining value. Clear founder protections and strong governance frameworks are vital for a company’s long-term success.
- Know Your Core Asset: The founders of iProcure were able to navigate their company’s troubles because they understood that the value of their business lay in their software, not the operational side of the business. This clarity enabled them to act quickly and reclaim their most valuable asset.
The Bottom line
As more African startups face financial difficulties in the wake of a funding boom, the trend of IP asset sales is likely to continue. While these sales can offer a way for companies to recoup some value from their intellectual property, the success of such efforts depends on several factors, including the salability of the assets, the structure of the deal, and the governance surrounding the transaction. For many companies, the story doesn’t end with liquidation. Their technological legacies may live on, reassembled and repurposed by the survivors. However, for others, the outcome will be much murkier, as evidenced by the complex legal battles and governance issues that continue to haunt many of these troubled firms.