Wakawaka: How this promising Dutch startup on a social mission is bankrupt now?

The recent years can be seen as the era of the dawn of startups. In spite of having a positive notion about the startup ecosystem by the millennials, it’s no surprise that most of the startup and the small business fails. 

In fact, entrepreneurship is one of the most difficult paths, no matter how careful you plan something is bound to go off course. In that situation, all you can do is to accept, learn and move forward. Before taking this path of entrepreneurship, one has to realize a minor mistake in this field can prove to be costly. 

WakaWaka recent news about filing a bankruptcy is one of the most classic examples, no matter how careful you plan, if it‘s bound to happen, it will. But how did it happen? Let’s find out!

All about WakaWaka

Founded in 2013 by entrepreneurs Maurits Groen and Camille van Gestel, WakaWaka developed an economical yet eye-catching LED flashlights, which can be charged with solar energy. 

Following the flashlights, the Dutch company also sold power banks with heavy batteries that allow electronic devices including mobile phones and laptops to get charged. In fact, the company has achieved a turnover of around 4.9 million euros last year and now it’s bankrupt! In point of fact, the company used its part of turn over to encourage the use of solar energy in underdeveloped and developing countries. 

Unexpected bankruptcy! 

Earlier this year, Maurits Groen tried to raise 2.5 million euros through NPEX SME, but failed terribly due to lack of investors. The company has also tried to raise funds with other investors in recent months but didn’t receive the necessary resources on time. According to Groen, the company is no longer able to meet its payment obligations. 

In fact, the company grew 40 percent last year from 150 stores to 750 stores now, from Japan and Australia to Chile and all countries in Europe. On the other hand, Director of Alan van Griethuysen of NPEX says that there was not enough appetite for investors to buy these certificates because the company could not sell enough shares. 

Having said that, Groen and his employee are working very hard on realizing a new start with maximum energy. He also added that his offices in San Francisco and Kigalie (Rwanda, ed.) would continue to grow as well. 

In one of the media reports, co-founder Camille van Gestel said, “We were well on course with the certificate registration, but the speed went by an external party.” Furthermore, Van Gestel also added that he can no longer say about the external party at the moment.

Major reasons for startup failure

According to the researchers who studied around 101 failed startup says there is no one reason, but multiple reasons as to why startup fails. 

The top 3 reasons are — No market demands for the product (42%), shortage of capital (29%) and lack of team enthusiasm or understanding (23%). Other reasons include pricing/cost issues, poor marketing, ignored customers and much more. 

Stay tuned to Silicon Canals for more updates in the tech startup world.