ILLA, a Cairo-based FMCG logistics startup, has raised a seven-figure investment round to accelerate its market growth and extend its offering within the FMCG value chain. Watheeq Financial Services and Golden Palm Investments co-led the round. Loftyinc Capital Management, Kepple Africa Fund, Cubit Ventures, AUC Angels, Oqal Angel Network, and FLat6Labs Cairo all participated in the round, with the latter doubling down on its investment in ILLA for the third time.
“ILLA will use the funds to fuel its expansion and growth in Egypt and disrupt the traditional route-to-market for FMCG companies and SMEs, while building more around its tech platform to deliver more value to its clients and drivers alike,” says Mahmoud ElZomor, Co-Founder and CEO of ILLA.
It intends to use the funds to expand its domestic market and improve its user experience.
Why The Investors Invested
“Mahmoud and the team are tailor-made for ILLA, bringing decades of diversified experience to help drive efficiency into the $15 trillion global FMCG market. With the onset of covid, the global supply chain management industry is suitable for modernization, and ILLA is uniquely positioned as an end-to-end execution platform. In addition, ILLA’s smart logistics solutions also play a crucial role in providing a full stack of operational solutions that will disrupt the sector, and will change the behavior for all stakeholders within the FMCG market,” said Khaled Zaidan of Watheeq Financial Services.
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“Middle-mile logistics is one of the most underinvested segments of the global supply chain market. ILLA has identified this massive opportunity in MENA and is offering a full-stack B2B supply chain management platform enabling FMCG brands to reach retailers directly at the lowest cost per case. Mahmoud and team are utilizing the trucking logistics shared economy and tech automation to innovate within a large and fast-growing market.” — AJ Okereke, Partner, Golden Palm
A Look At What The Startup Does
ILLA was founded in 2019 by Mahmoud Elzomor, Alaa Jarkas, Ahmed Sakr, and Hossam Saraya, and was soon joined by a well-versed management team led by Mohamed Emera as Director of Growth, Mohamed Kamal as CFO, and Khaled Elzomor as Commercial Director.
ILLA was able to secure the business and confidence of over 65 clients in its portfolio, including household names such as Coca-Cola, P&G, Danone, Nestle, Juhayna, and Pepsico, by focusing completely on the FMCG sector.
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ILLA has been delivering on its main promise of moving products efficiently on behalf of FMCG businesses across 27 governorates in Egypt since 2019, traversing over 5,000,000 KM and completing over 250,000 transactions.
Before ILLA, FMCG brands had to rely on a variety of owned and outsourced assets to manage their delivery operations, which added to the pain of a fragmented logistics cycle. This gave way to ILLA’s value offering to those brands: a streamlined value chain with visibility, control, and growth potential for each individual brand, with ILLA acting as an asset-light logistics company, leveraging its tech platform and operational intelligence to deliver an unparalleled delivery experience.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer