Twiga Foods has successfully resolved a longstanding issue with Incentro Africa, related to a debt dispute for Google Cloud Services that has been boiling up for several months. Incentro Africa, a certified Google Cloud partner, has worked with Twiga Foods since 2021. Initially engaged to enhance billing and compliance management, the partnership evolved into Incentro providing engineering support to address technical challenges within Twiga’s platform, eliminating the need for hiring additional staff.
Twiga and Incentro Africa Dispute
The conflict arose when Twiga Foods received a demand for $261,878 (over Ksh 39 million with the current exchange rate). The matter escalated to the High Court, with Judge Josephine Mong’are urging the parties to negotiate and settle the dispute outside of court. An interim order was extended, preventing the liquidation of Twiga Foods, with the company contending that the demand was made in bad faith to force payment of a non-existent debt. Twiga Foods argued that Incentro Africa was acting unreasonably by pursuing liquidation instead of exploring other remedies outlined in the agreement between the two parties.
Resolution
As of today, both companies have reached an agreement to resolve the dispute. Twiga Foods attributes the successful resolution to its new management, which led negotiations with Incentro. While specific details of the resolution remain undisclosed, it is speculated that Twiga Foods will likely pay at least a portion of the owed amount. Given their recent financial boost, with a $35 million Convertible bond deal from Creadev and Juven in December, it is presumed that a payment plan may have been negotiated. This type of debt, paying interest and convertible to equity, provides Twiga Foods with financial flexibility.
CEO Peter Njonjo’s temporary departure for a 6-month sabbatical raised eyebrows, leading to speculation that he might be pushed out due to the injection of new capital. However, the company denied this but it was an unusual move for the CEO to take a break just after securing investment.
What the parties Said
Dennis de Weerd, CEO of Incentro, praised Twiga’s Chief Financial Officer, Zuber Momoniat, for his work in resolving the dispute and revitalizing their partnership. De Weerd expressed regret for the challenges in 2023 but announced that both companies are pleased to have resolved the issues to their mutual satisfaction. He highlighted their commitment to a stronger relationship and continued collaboration on innovative and cost-effective cloud services for Twiga Foods.
Twiga’s CFO, Zuber Momoniat, confirmed the settlement and the withdrawal of the statutory demand filed in September 2023 by Incentro Africa. He emphasized the restored faith between the parties and acknowledged the necessity of renegotiating with Google Cloud to align with the current business environment.
