Tawfeer Market, an online grocery retail startup operating from Egypt’s second most populous city Alexandria, has raised a US$500,000 seed round to help it build on impressive early growth.
Launched towards the end of 2019, Tawfeer Market allows users to find and purchase groceries via app, which it then has delivered via its fulfillment arm. The quick commerce app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times so far, with tens of thousands of orders growing at a steady two-digit rate month-on-month.
To help it continue to grow, and to expand beyond Alexandria, Tawfeer Market has closed a US$500,000 seed round with contributions from the Alexandria Business Angels Network. The startup also recently took part in the AUC VLab acceleration programme.
According to the co-founder and CEO of Tawfeer Market, Ahmad Fasseeh, the grocery retail market is enormous, exceeding US$50 billion, but the market in Egypt still lags behind.
“The future of online grocery retail in Egypt is expected to grow exponentially, leaving room for many players to fulfill different needs. Retail grocery consumers seek three main criteria: variety, convenience, and price. Tawfeer Market tries to offer the right formula that fulfills consumer needs in the majority of their orders, offering the most commonly ordered 4,000 SKUs, including fresh and frozen food, at the lowest price within 60 minutes,” he said.