Egypt’s MaxAB, a food and grocery B2B e-commerce and distribution platform serving a network of traditional retailers across Egypt and Morocco, has closed a US$40 million pre-Series B equity round to fuel its expansion across the MENAP 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 served approximately 150,000 unique traditional retailers, delivering 2.5 million orders.
MaxAB raised US$55 million in Series A funding last year, acquiring Moroccan counterpart WaystoCap, and has now added US$40 million in pre-Series B capital. The funds come from several new investors, including Silver Lake, British International Investment (BII), and DisruptAD, ADQ’s venture platform. The round also includes participation from existing investors Beco Capital, 4DX Ventures, Flourish Ventures and Africa Platform Capital.
Having solidified its position as the market leader in its industry, with presence across all key cities in Egypt and in Casablanca, MaxAB now plans further geographic expansions to see full geographical coverage of Morocco by the end of 2023 and an entry into Saudi Arabia.
The new capital will also be deployed by MaxAB to finance further growth in the e-commerce arm of its business, expand its technology and product teams, and further scale its fintech arm by offering a wider range of embedded finance solutions.
“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,” El-Megharbel said.
“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 further consolidation of the informal grocery sector, heavy focus and investments in Fintech and replicating our success in new markets to grow beyond borders.”
Amer Al Ameri, head of venture capital and technology investments at ADQ, said MaxAB was building technology-driven products and services that solved 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,” he said.
