Egyptian grocery delivery startup Appetito has acquired Tunisian quick commerce platform Lamma to expand its operations into Morocco, Tunisia and West Africa.
Founded in March 2020 by Shehab Mokhtar, Appetito is a grocery delivery platform that sources products from manufacturers, stores them in its warehouses, and ships them to customers via mini fulfillment centres. The startup raised a US$2 million pre-seed funding round late last year.
Appetito operates across three cities in Egypt, and is now expanding into Tunisia and Morocco, where Lamma delivers groceries, food, personal care, electronics and fashion items to users in less than 45 minutes, using a blend of dark stores and its partner network. It was launched by Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi, who will now join Appetito as chief expansion and growth officer.
The founders of both startups have reached an agreement to create a single entity, operating as Appetito, with the closing of the deal expected by the end of Q3 2022.
“I’m delighted to welcome unparalleled talent and like-minded entrepreneurs to our family. We believe it’s the best time to expand in Africa to solve the huge in-efficiencies in the retail supply chain,” said Appetito CEO Mokhtar. “Having Lamma on board will put us on track to become the largest q-commerce player in the continent, transforming the life of millions of people and creating thousands of direct & indirect jobs.”
El Idrissi said Lamma and Appetito were a perfect match.
“We share common vision, business and operating models. But above all, we share similar values. As entrepreneurs, joining forces to create the regional champion makes perfect sense. From our three countries, we now have a fantastic platform to expand into new African markets,” he said.
