Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform MaxAB has secured US$40 million in Series A funding to help it expand across the country and the broader MENA region.
Founded in 2018 by Egyptian and Libyan entrepreneurs Belal El-Megharbel and Mohamed Ben Halim, MaxAB is a B2B e-commerce platform that connects food and grocery retailers to suppliers in Egypt’s most under-served geographies.
The company serves a network of traditional retailers across Egypt, using empowering technologies and innovative supply chains to help put the correct amount of food and groceries at the right place at the right time. So far it has supplied more than 55,000 retailers, fulfilled more than one million orders, and grown more than 5x year-on-year.
Having secured US$6.2 million in seed funding in 2019, MaxAB has now raised a US$40 million Series A round to help it expand. The round was led by RMBV, a prominent impact investor in North Africa, and also included participation from the IFC, Flourish Ventures, Crystal Stream Capital, Rise Capital, and Endeavour Catalyst as well as existing investors BECO Capital and 4DX Ventures.
The capital will be deployed to expand MaxAB’s physical footprint across the MENA region, following its expansion to every key city in Egypt by the end of 2021. The company also plans on scaling recently launched business verticals, including new supply chains and embedded finance solutions. It also plans to expand its talent pool.
“Three years ago we embarked on an ambitious mission to create a more cohesive, transparent and efficient food and grocery supply chain in Egypt. This additional capital will allow us to continue to give retailers the economies of scale our platform offers while serving many more new customers. Being backed by a diverse group of renowned and experienced investors will enable us to rapidly scale our operations across the MENA region and developing markets,” said El-Megharbel, MaxAB’s chief executive officer (CEO).
Ahmed Badreldin, managing partner at RMBV, said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted the unique structure of Egypt’s economy, with hundreds of thousands of shopkeepers and small businesses becoming the lifeline of the country at the time of crisis.
“We are delighted to be backing visionary entrepreneurs that have created a transformative business with impressive growth that is a catalyst for financial inclusion and job creation. We look forward to supporting MaxAB in its next phase of development as they continue delivering on growth and innovation,” he said.
