Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech Lipa Later has officially entered administration as of March 24, 2025, following months of financial trouble and unsuccessful fundraising efforts.

The move means the company’s directors no longer have control over its assets or operations, with decision-making now in the hands of Joy Vipinchandra Bhatt from Moore JVB Consulting LLP, the appointed administrator. A gazette notice confirming this was seen by TechCabal.

Lipa Later’s financial struggles have been ongoing since its last successful funding round in September 2023, when it secured $3.4 million in debt financing. Since then, the company has been unable to attract fresh capital, leading to difficulties in paying employees and suppliers. As the company navigates administration, creditors have until April 23 to submit their claims.

“We are currently engaging all key stakeholders of the company to elicit their cooperation in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the company,” Bhatt said.

Employees have borne the brunt of the crisis, with at least five staff members revealing to TechCabal that they had not received their salaries for several months as of December 2024. Suppliers have also been affected, including London-based consultancy Africa Foresight Group (AFG), which took legal action against Lipa Later over an unpaid $13,516 consultancy fee. Court documents indicate that the dispute dates back to April 2022 when AFG was contracted to prepare a market report. Lipa Later withheld payment, arguing that the work did not meet expectations. However, in December 2024, Kenya’s High Court ruled against Lipa Later, stating the company had admitted to the debt in internal correspondence.

“It is therefore clear to me that the amount demanded in the statutory demand is, in fact, not disputed, and the debtor (Lipa Later) is estopped from claiming so having admitted to the debt,” Justice Mong’are stated in the ruling.

The court also determined that Lipa Later did not provide sufficient evidence to show a genuine dispute over the debt.

Lipa Later’s struggles are a sharp contrast to its earlier success when it was seen as a rising star in the fintech space. The company raised $12 million in seed funding in January 2022 from investors like Cauris and Lateral Frontiers. Prior to that, it secured backing from Orbit Startups in 2021 and Founders Factory Africa in 2019. Despite this early investor confidence, Lipa Later failed to raise additional funding in 2024. A top executive, speaking anonymously, claimed that a major funding deal was close in late 2024 but ultimately fell through.

Financial concerns surrounding the company grew after it acquired struggling e-commerce platform Sky.Garden in December 2023 for KES 250 million ($1.9 million). At the time, Lipa Later was already facing financial pressure, and the acquisition raised questions about whether it could sustain its operations.

Now, the company’s future depends on whether the administrator can successfully restructure the business or find a buyer willing to take a chance on its BNPL model.