SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 10, 2024--
Zip, the world’s leading procurement orchestration platform, today celebrated a transformative year that established procurement orchestration as a critical capability for modern enterprises. Throughout 2024, the platform processed more than $107 billion in spend across more than 4 million suppliers, while helping customers like Hewlett-Packard (HP), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Anthropic streamline operations and drive measurable results.
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“When we introduced procurement orchestration in early 2024, it wasn’t just a new term—it was a new way of thinking,” said Rujul Zaparde, Co-founder and CEO of Zip. “Now, leading analysts recognize it as a pivotal category, and global enterprises have embraced it as the key to unlocking innovation. This shift is fueled by tangible outcomes: driving savings, streamlining complexity, and delivering unprecedented ease of use. And we’re just getting started.”
This year, Zip reached several pivotal milestones, underscoring its commitment to modernizing business procurement on a global scale:
Investment & Growth
Brand & Community
Product Innovation
Platform Impact
Throughout the year, Zip's innovations and market impact earned recognition from Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch as a pioneer in enterprise technology. The company was also named to Fast Company'sNext Big Things in Tech, Inc.'sBest in Business Awards, and Forbes’Best Startup Employers in America. A June 2024 IDC Business Value report revealed that large enterprise organizations using Zip's platform achieve average benefits worth 3.6% of savings in total spend under management. The report showed purchasing cycles accelerated by 55%, while procurement teams reported 25% gains in productivity per employee.
Customer success stories exemplify the platform’s impact. Snowflake achieved over $300 million in savings and brought clarity to $6.7 billion in spending with Zip; Discover Financial Services achieved a 67% increase in throughput and a 14% reduction in cycle times, eliminating over 3,000 business approvals annually; and UCI Health streamlined healthcare procurement processes to enable doctors and nurses to focus on providing life-saving medical treatment without administrative delays.
“If 2023 was the Year of Intake, then 2024 was undoubtedly the Year of Orchestration,” added Zaparde. “Looking ahead to 2025, we see procurement evolving through the convergence of best-of-breed tools and source-to-pay models into a single orchestrated platform. We’re excited to continue improving how businesses interact with suppliers and manage spending, so that every organization can access the resources they need to operate at peak performance.”
Click here to read more about Zip’s transformative 2024.
About Zip
Zip is the world’s leading procurement orchestration platform, empowering businesses to accelerate the procurement process, mitigate risk, and drive growth by offering a single front door to unify the teams, tasks, and tools involved in working with suppliers. With Zip, businesses can maximize employee adoption of purchasing policies and increase spend visibility and control. As the leading solution for optimizing business spend, Zip’s AI-powered platform is trusted by hundreds of leading enterprises worldwide, including AMD, Anthropic, Arm, Canva, Coinbase, Discover, Dollar Tree, HP, Instacart, Lyft, Northwestern Mutual, Pinterest, Prudential, Reddit, Sephora, Snowflake, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Toast to maximize the ROI of every dollar. To learn more, visit ziphq.com.
Zip 2024 Year in review (Graphic: Business Wire)
TAMBACOUNDA, Senegal (AP) — On a blazing afternoon in Senegal, 33-year-old farmer Filly Mangassa heaved peanut plants onto a horse-drawn cart, sending clouds of dust swirling.
Ten years ago, he left his village for the capital, Dakar, dreaming of becoming a professor. But the high cost of living and lack of jobs put that dream out of reach.
“Particularly after COVID, companies weren't hiring and prices were rising,” said Mangassa, who has a masters degree in criminology. “I thought: My father and my grandfather were farmers, so why not use that experience and go back to my hometown and try to make a living in agriculture.”
Across much of Africa, farming has long been seen as low-status work, pushing young people to cities in search of office jobs.
“For my father and some people in my family, they sort of saw me returning to the countryside as a step back,” Mangassa said.
But that perception is changing. Rising food prices, investments in irrigation and access to new technologies are making agriculture more profitable. Governments and nonprofits now fund programs that teach advanced farming skills and support farmers with equipment, fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.
“When my father saw that I had a clear, thorough business plan, he encouraged me and helped me with the administrative process to acquire land,” Mangassa said.
He is part of a trend of young Africans leaving cities to try their luck at farming. Mangassa says he makes a profit of around 2 million CFA ($3,500 a year), far above Senegal's average yearly income of about $2,500.
Africa is the world’s fastest-urbanizing region, with cities growing at an average rate of 3.5% per year. As city populations increase, so does the cost of living.
Median rents and grocery prices in places like Dakar or Kenya’s capital of Nairobi are approaching those of major European cities, despite median salaries being significantly lower, according to the World Bank.
Meanwhile, between 10 and 12 million young Africans enter the job market each year while only about 3 million formal jobs are created, according to the African Development Bank.
“A lot of my friends who graduated at the same time as me now work as motorcycle taxi drivers and barely make a living,” Mangassa said.
Mangassa now owns a 32-acre farm where he grows peanuts, corn, vegetables and fruit. He received some funding to buy land from a World Food Program initiative helping young Africans start careers in agriculture.
Launched in 2023 and set to run through early 2027, it has supported around 380,000 people in launching agricultural businesses.
It works with local governments to allow young farmers to acquire land — often a challenge because of complex ownership systems and young people's difficulty in obtaining loans because they are seen as high risk.
In Senegal, the program has supported over 61,000 people, with more than 80% launching farms, according to WFP. It also operates in Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania.
“Our surveys show three main barriers for young people entering agriculture: limited access to land, financing and inputs; a lack of practical skills; and tough market conditions — knowing when to sell, how to add value and how to market their products,” said WFP’s country director for Senegal, Pierre Lucas.
Senegal, like many African countries, is plagued by food insecurity that has been exacerbated by donors' funding cuts and worsening climate conditions.
The region also is recovering from the colonial era, said Ibrahima Hathie, an agricultural economist at the Senegal-based Prospective Agricultural and Rural Initiative think tank.
“In Senegal for example, farmers were pressured to grow groundnuts to be sold in France instead of food crops," Hathie said.
Scarce arable land and soil degradation further constrain food production.
But now, many young farmers are shifting to high-value crops and have better technology, so production is increasing, Hathie said, predicting that as more locally produced food enters markets, staple prices could fall.
Senegal is a main departure point for migrants attempting to reach Europe via the deadly Atlantic route. Authorities see agriculture as one way to create jobs to keep young people at home, launching campaigns in rural areas most affected by migration.
“I’m convinced that the only sector that can create the hundreds of thousands of jobs young people in Africa need is agriculture and livestock,” Senegal’s agriculture minister, Mabouba Diagne, told reporters in October.
Adama Sane, 24, once dreamed of reaching Europe but didn't have money to pay smugglers. He had moved to Dakar in 2020 but struggled to make ends meet as a construction worker. Then he heard about the WFP initiative.
“In a sense, discovering agriculture saved my life,” Sane said. “If I had stayed in my construction job, I would have tried crossing the ocean sooner or later.”
He now raises poultry and cultivates peppers on his five-acre farm in his village.
“I am still far from where I want to be with my business, but at least I am saving a lot of money compared to the city, and life is less stressful,” Sane said. “A lot of young people think that being a farmer is a ‘small job,’ but there is starting to be a public awakening that agriculture can be the key to development in Senegal."
Three other potential migrants are now working for Mangassa.
Mamadou Camara, 22, Issa Traoré, 22, and Madassa Kebe, 23, had been living in Mali's capital, Bamako, struggling to find work. Their families had helped them raise money for the Atlantic journey to Europe via Guinea-Bissau, but they said a smuggler there disappeared with it.
They decided to return home through Senegal, where they met Mangassa.
“I empathized with them because I know what it’s like to work hard and still not make ends meet while your family depends on you,” Mangassa said. “I wanted to show them that there are opportunities for young people here.”
For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Filly Mangassa, who is part of a growing trend of young Africans moving to rural areas for better work opportunities, stands in a field in Tambacounda, Senegal, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Banchereau)
Mamadou Camara, who moved from Mali to Senegal pursue farming, stacks peanut plants on a cart on a farm in Tambacounda, Senegal, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Banchereau)
Issa Traore, left, Mamadou Camara, center, and Madassa Kebe, who moved from Mali to Senegal to pursue farming, sit on a scooter on a farm in Tambacounda, Senegal, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Banchereau)
Issa Traore, center, and Madassa Kebe, right, carry peanut plants on a farm in Tambacounda, Senegal, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Banchereau)
Filly Mangassa, left, and Mamadou Camara, who are part of a growing trend of young Africans moving to rural areas for better work opportunities, throw peanut plants on a pile on a farm in Tambacounda, Senegal, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Banchereau)
