Appetito, based in Cairo, is acquiring Tunisia’s Lamma in order to grow operations in Morocco, Tunisia, and West Africa and become Africa’s top e-Grocery and Q-commerce operator.
Appetito delivers thousands of groceries and household products to clients from dark stores in three Egyptian cities using its mobile app. Lamma has also established a similar Q-Commerce firm in Tunisia and Morocco. It was co-founded in 2021 by serial entrepreneur and former Careem GM Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi (a ride-hailing company). Yassir will be the Chief Expansion & Growth Officer at Appetito.
The founders of both firms have now agreed to become a single entity known as “Appetito.” This transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2022.
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“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 inefficiencies in the retail supply chain.” said Appetito Chief Executive Officer Shehab 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”, Shehab added.
“Lamma & Appetito are a perfect match. We share a common vision, business & operating models. But above all, we share similar values. As entrepreneurs, joining forces to create the regional champion makes perfect sense. From our 3 countries, we now have a fantastic platform to expand into new African markets”, commented Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi.
“This acquisition will allow significant synergies between the 2 companies, starting with a strong and common tech platform. Both companies have been extremely efficient with our capital deployment, having covered 3 markets, all while achieving double-digit margins, and keeping cash burn under control” said Appetito Chief Operating Officer Ahmed Eldemerdash.
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The move has piqued the interest of early investors in both companies. “The Middle East and Africa are fragmented marketplaces in which few businesses have established regional players. We are honored to be a part of this adventure!” Grégoire de Padirac, Principal of Orange Ventures and a Lamma investor, stated.
Appetito is a rapidly developing q-commerce firm with ambitions to become the top q-commerce player in frontier and emerging regions.
Appetito Lamma Appetito Lamma
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh