Sabi cuts 20% of staff, refocuses on commodity traceability

Sabi has restructured its operations and cut around 20% of staff as it shifts full attention to TRACE, its digital platform for tracking African commodities. The startup, backed by Norrsken22, is now focused on helping global buyers trace minerals and crops back to their source, with transparency tools built for today’s ESG rules and export standards.

TRACE is already handling exports of lithium, copper, tin, monazite, and beryllium sourced from Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. Around 50,000 tonnes have moved through the platform since its launch. For off-takers in the US, UK, Europe, and Asia, this traceability is no longer optional. TRACE gives them verifiable, site-tested data on everything from sourcing conditions to lab-certified quality.

Founded in 2021 by Ademola Adesina and Anu Adedoyin Adasolum, Sabi began by building digital infrastructure for Africa’s informal trade sector, including fast-moving consumer goods. But in late 2023, the company began carving out its TRACE platform as demand surged from international commodity buyers. It now operates solely in three areas: FMCG through its Market product, and minerals and agriculture through TRACE.

TRACE solves long-running issues in Africa’s commodity market, where small players often lack access to quality control or global buyers. With TRACE, their goods are verified and tracked, opening up more markets. “We can trace the source of the supply,” CEO Adasolum said. “They can plug into more quality tests; they can ask for samplers to come to site.”

In early 2025, Sabi expanded its partnership with blockchain firm Minespider and supported new lithium processing plants in Nigeria, capable of handling 500 to 1,000 tonnes per day. These moves align with rising global rules on clean sourcing, including new EU traceability laws.

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TRACE also includes Flare, a blockchain-based system that acts like a passport for each commodity. It records ESG data, lab results, and sourcing information, giving buyers a clear audit trail from mine or farm to export. The verification process is adaptive—sites already verified through Sabi’s network face fewer checks, while new or high-volume supply routes are inspected more closely.

Sabi’s move comes as Africa’s mineral supply chains face deeper scrutiny. In late 2024, the Democratic Republic of Congo filed a lawsuit against Apple’s French and Belgian units, accusing the company of using “blood minerals.” Apple later suspended sourcing from the region, citing the breakdown of due diligence systems. TRACE’s compliance tools are designed to solve this gap—by helping suppliers meet international buyer requirements from the start.

For Adasolum, TRACE is more than a product. It’s a necessary correction in a market where most African mineral operations remain invisible to global trade, even though the continent holds 30% of the world’s reserves. “What we’re doing is helping these mines professionalise, learn to meet standards, and then plugging them into these off-take opportunities,” she shared.

The company says this sharper focus won’t change its core mission. Sabi had built its business supporting African merchants in the fast-moving consumer goods space. By 2023, it was moving over $1 billion worth of goods per year across its platform. Now with TRACE, it’s choosing to serve a tougher but more urgent need: making exports in Africa easier to trust and track.

*This is a developing story