Omnibiz, a Nigerian retail-tech startup, has raised $15 million in pre-Series A investment to speed retailer expansion and retention and double sales.
Timon Capital led the US$15 million pre-Series A deal for the business, which raised a US$3 million seed round in August last year. Ventures Platform, LoftyInc Capital Management, Chapel Hill Denham, Chandaria Capital, and Musha Ventures were also involved in the round, which was structured as a $5 million equity and a $10 million loan.
Omnibiz will utilise the funds to further its focus on gaining retail clients’ loyalty and boosting their retention. Omnibiz anticipates a 4x revenue increase for its retailers by implementing a holistic strategy to become the primary B2B operating system for retailers, including assistance with last mile delivery, procurement, working capital, inventory management, and operational tools for tracking sales, cost, prices, and profit. This month, the firm will begin its regional development.
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Why The Investors Invested
Since its inception, the firm has gained significant traction. The firm has quickly evolved into a prominent B2B e-commerce platform, linking Nigerian and Ghanaian retailers with over 200 products provided through a network of more than 70 logistical partners. Using the platform’s insights, merchants may examine their stock in real-time and avoid acquiring SKUs that they may struggle to sell. Every day, almost 3,000 shops utilise Omnibiz.
“We invested in Omnibiz because we believe that it is solving a much needed problem,” said Nikos Katsaounis, Timon Capital partner. “The FMCG supply chain is fragmented, inefficient, and opaque. Omnibiz tackles all of these problems and addresses them with an efficient software layer that provides much needed data on this otherwise obscure market and supply chain. Deepankar Rustagi is an excellent operating CEO.”
A Look At What The Startup Does
Deepankar Rustagi founded Omnibiz in June 2019 to allow retailers to make orders at their leisure and have things delivered to their doorstep at no cost. Retailers may supply their stores with the use of the company’s mobile applications, WhatsApp channel, or a dedicated service line.
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“We believe the smart informal retailer — not shopping malls — is the future of modern retail in Africa. By providing the capital, tools and logistics, we will enable retailers to offer great merchandising at an affordable price point to win their customers’ trust. This funding will allow us to quadruple the profitability of our retailers, build a scalable and profitable business, and take us one step closer to transforming African retail,” said Rustagi.
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