MaxAB, an Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform for food and grocery stores, has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by RMBV, a well-known North African impact investor.
The IFC, Flourish Ventures, Crystal Stream Capital, Rise Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst, as well as MaxAB’s previous investors, Beco Capital and 4DX Ventures, participated in the round. MaxAB is the first North African investment for Crystal Stream and Flourish Ventures.
Since its seed round in September 2019, the company has raised more than $45 million in total funding.
MaxAB, which was founded in 2018, provides services to a network of traditional retailers throughout Egypt.
The startup used technology to establish a transformational supply chain model and a product that empowers both traditional retailers and suppliers in less than three years.
Traditional retailers benefit from MaxAB’s one-stop shopping experience, which includes clear pricing, on-demand delivery, and a variety of value-added services.
MaxAB’s end-to-end supply chain solutions and business intelligence tools provide suppliers with the ability to precisely predict, monitor, and control the impact of their strategy in real time.
Following its growth to every major city in Egypt by the end of 2021, the new capital raised will be used to expand MaxAB’s physical footprint across the MENA region.
In addition, the company intends to scale newly developed business verticals such as new supply chains and embedded financing solutions.
In addition, the company will extend its talent pool by bringing in some of the world’s brightest minds to join the dynamic team, further establishing Egypt as one of the region’s key technology hubs.
Belal El-Megharbel, Co-Founder and CEO of MaxAB, comments on the company’s expansion plans:
“Three years ago, we embarked on an ambitious quest to create a more coherent, transparent, and efficient food and grocery supply chain in Egypt. With this additional funding, we will be able to continue to provide retailers the advantages of scale that our platform provides while also servicing a larger number of new customers. We will be able to rapidly extend our activities across the MENA area and developing markets thanks to the support of a diversified collection of recognized and experienced investors. MaxAB has been able to impact the lives of more than 55,000 retailers, effectively fulfill more than 1 million orders, and create more than 1,600 direct jobs in this short timeframe, he continues. It has expanded more than 5 times year over year, owing to its ability to dependably fulfill orders within 24 hours of receipt.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the unique nature of Egypt’s economy, with hundreds of thousands of shops and small enterprises providing the lifeline of our country during this time of crisis,” said Ahmed Badreldin, Managing Partner at RMBV. We are excited to be partnering with innovative entrepreneurs that have built a game-changing company with amazing growth that is a driver of financial inclusion and employment development. We are excited to assist MaxAB in its next stage of development as they continue to deliver on growth and innovation.”
“MaxAB is poised to play a key role in the financial lives of retailers – it directly boosts retailers’ profits by reducing the hassle and cost of buying inventory, and with embedded fintech products in its core offering, customers can easily buy more goods and pay for them seamlessly,” said Ameya Upadhyay, a venture partner at Flourish Ventures. “MaxAB is leading the worldwide trend toward Embedded Finance with its founding team of seasoned operators who have scaled world-class companies previously. We are pleased to support MaxAB as our first investment in Egypt and look forward to following their progress.”
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