Egypt-based food and grocery B2B e-commerce platform MaxAB has snatched $40 million in a pre-Series B equity round from Silver Lake, British International Investment and DisruptAD.
The fresh investment, first and foremost, will help MaxAB to extend its operation to cover the entire Moroccan territory by the end of 2023 and foray into Saudi Arabia. Secondly, the money will be used to fuel its e-commerce ambitions.
CEO and co-founder at MaxAB, Belal El-Megharbel, said: “Within just four years of operations, we have been able to re-engineer the informal food and grocery market in Egypt and Morocco.
“We are thrilled to have gained the recognition and financial backing of world-class investors, adding to the reception and support we receive from the retailers and suppliers we serve.
“Going by the quality of investors who are partnering with us, we are excited about venturing into the next stage of the MaxAB journey, which is a further consolidation of the informal grocery sector, heavy focus and investments in Fintech and replicating our success in new markets to grow beyond borders.”
MaxAB has counted more than 750,000 mom-and-pop businesses in need of its services in Egypt and Morocco
Overall, MaxAB has raised $100 million from this and last year.
Since its launch in 2018, MaxAB’s e-commerce business has catered to about 150,000 clients, serving a wide network of traditional retailers across Egypt and Morocco.
In 2021, MaxAB started to create its embedded fintech solutions across its merchant base to empower retailers and suppliers in the region.
Amer Al Ameri, head of venture capital and technology investments at ADQ, said: “MaxAB are building technology-driven products and services that solve for challenges around better integrated, efficient, reliable grocery supply chains for the MENAP region.
“In digitising the vastly traditional, multi-layered and fragmented food and grocery sector supply chain, they have broken the mould and presented a domino effect of opportunities, one of which is the launch of the fintech vertical. We are happy to be embarking on this journey with MaxAB and are looking forward to providing strategic guidance for continued growth and impact.”
The quick-commerce market in the Mena region is forecast to reach $47 billion by 2030, anchored by an acceleration in the grocery and food delivery categories, according to a report from Redseer market research.
