Omnibiz, a Nigerian B2B eCommerce business, has announced that it has raised $3 million in a seed round.
The round increased Omnibiz’s total funding to $4 million.
This seed round included investments from Launch Africa, Sunu Capital, Musha Ventures, Rising Tide Africa, LoftyInc, and Seed Stars, and was led by V&R Africa, Timon Capital, and Tangerine Insurance.
Omnibiz, founded in June 2019 by Deepankar Rustagi, brings together local retailers, distributors, third-party logistics partners, and FMCG manufacturers on a single platform, enabling improved Return on investment, market growth, and obtaining a larger market through a well-connected distribution network.
Since then, the company has expanded through digitizing Africa’s retail space and offering businesses value-added services.
Retailers can use the company’s mobile apps, Whatsapp channel, or dedicated care number to make purchases at their convenience and also have goods delivered to their doorstep for free.
While B2B retail players have received between $10 and $40 million, the majority of this money has been utilized to create assets (logistics and warehousing) and lend to merchants rather than investing in the sector’s digitization.
“Omnibiz Africa has expanded at a phenomenal rate since inception,” stated the founder, Deepankar Rustagi. To make things easier and more convenient for retailers, we’ve enhanced our ties with FMCG manufacturers and distributors. Our execution and technology-enabled solution set us apart from competitors in the industry.”
“B2B e-commerce is one of Africa’s major opportunities,” according to Timon Capital. Purchases of FMCG grow in lockstep with the population, however serving direct to consumers is problematic due to low average order values, high user acquisition costs, and last-mile delivery challenges. Platforms like OmniBiz help to accelerate this growth by increasing revenue for manufacturers, distributors, and end retailers, and they are a tremendous net benefit for the economies in which they operate.”
“Omnibiz will be the role model for B2B retail in Africa,” claimed another investor, V&R Africa Limited. They have a lot of room to grow in other emerging markets.”
Omnibiz, which has over 52,000 businesses in the FMCG industry, plans to use the additional funding to expand its product lines and expand into ten West African cities in the coming months.
Read more on Tech Gist AFrica:
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