Egypt’s startup fund raising this year still reflects an opportunity for all sectors, not only fintechs, transport or logistics. Cairo-based beauty services booking platform Glamera has joined the league, raising $250,000 in a seed round. Although the startup did not disclose the name of the investor, it however noted that the investment came from a Saudi angel investor.
A Look At Glamera
The startup was founded early 2019 by Mohamed Hassan, Omar Fathy and Zafer Alshehri.
Glamera through its mobile app (for iOS and Android) allows users to book appointments for different beauty and health services at beauty salons and clinics, spas, gyms, and dental clinics.
The users have the options to go through the list of services provided by Glamera’s different partners, see their prices, book appointments, pay (using different payment options) and then rate their experience afterward right from the app (think Uber for beauty services).
The startup also maintains an app for partners that they use to manage the bookings.
Mohamed Hassan, the co-founder and CEO of Glamera, noted that the startup currently has over 200 partners in Cairo selling their services on Glamera’s platform and have facilitated thousands of bookings since launching earlier this year, with over 20,000 app downloads.
Glamera has plans to (further) expand its services in Cairo and three other governorates in Egypt including Alexandria later this year with the aim to take the number of partners they have to 1,000.
The startup also plans to expand its services to Saudi next year.
The startup that currently has a team of 35 employees based in Cairo will use this investment to fuel its expansion.
In 2018, Egypt was ranked the fastest growing startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa and the second largest after UAE, according to a report by start-up platform MAGNiTT.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world
This year, transport and logistics startups in Africa seem to be having a field day raising funds to scale their businesses. Algeria’s ride-hailing startup TemTem is the latest to join the train of fund raisers. The startup has raised $4 million in a Series A round.
“Today, TemTem has all cards in hand to become the market leader in the Algerian mobility sector,’’ said CEO Kamel Haddar. ‘‘This new fundraising round confirms TemTem’s competitive position, the relevance of its strategy, and investor confidence in its strong growth potential. With this new capital, TemTem, will lunch two new innovative services centered around improving the daily lives of Algerians,”
Here Is The Deal
The investment was led by Tell Venture Automotive (that’s apparently associated with Tell Group, a Luxembourg-headquartered financial services company), with other undisclosed investors joining.
The startup claims it has plans to expand the services to ten more cities in Algeria without disclosing which cities, to be precise.
“We are going to first and foremost focus on boosting growth by diversifying our products, scaling up our marketing campaigns, in particular with the help of a major telecom company, and recruiting top talents. The goal is clear: to become the market leader,” said TemTem’s CEO.
TemTem claims this is the largest Series A investment raised by any Algeria startup.
The latest investment comes a little over a year after TemTem announced its $1.7 million seed round.
The latest investment also brings the total amount of funding raised by the startup so far to $5.7 million, making TemTem the best-funded startup in Algeria.
Why The Investors Invested
Yacine Maireche, General Manager of Tell Venture Automotive, noted that:
“Algeria and Africa represent great opportunities of growth for TemTem. We are delighted to team up with TemTem to support its growth and help improve customer mobility.”
Founded last year by Kamel Haddar, a serial entrepreneur who has previously founded some other digital ventures (and continues to lead them), TemTem offers ride-hailing services (of regular taxis, different types of cars, and bikes) to both individuals and businesses in Algiers, Oran, and Constantine.
TemTem works directly with over 150 companies to offer different types of ride-hailing services to their employees with the businesses getting invoiced for it at the end of every month. The startup has recently also launched delivery services for businesses.
The startup that currently employs a team of 40, according to the statement, has served over 200,000 customers to date and has over 4,000 drivers in its network.
The startup said in a statement it offers its drivers discounts on TemTem, car insurance, after-sale service with car manufacturers, and different benefits for their families. Kamel Haddar, said the startup’s drivers are the backbone of the business.
‘‘It is essential to value them and give them concrete perspectives in their daily lives. This is also why our partners and their families will soon be able to subscribe to dedicated health insurance,” he said.
The Algerian startup also has plans to expand to other African markets but for now, it’s focusing only on Algeria. The CEO noted that international expansion has always been in TemTem’s mid-term development outlook and once they have covered the Algerian market, they would want to work to solve urban transportation issues in different cities of Africa.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world
As parts of efforts aimed at strengthening cooperation and facilitating cross boarder trade across Africa, the President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, has urged African countries to create vehicles that would make it possible for manufacturers to trade across the continent. Prof. Oramah made this known yesterday while speaking at a High-level event on the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa 2016-2019, organised at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Prof. Benedict Oramah
The event which was well attended by a cross section of dignitaries from Africa had Li Yong, Director-General, United Nations Industrial Organisation; Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry; Dr. Adewunmi Adesina, President, African Development Bank; Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, United nations Economic Commission for Africa; and Ali Mufuruki, Vice Chairman, AfroChampions Club as participants. A second session also featured President Apha Conde of Guinea; President Edgar Lungu of Zambia and Vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan of Cote d’Ivoire. The high-level event, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, had the theme “Promoting innovation and infrastructure development: A pathway for boosting manufacturing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
Prof. Oramah argued that for manufacturers across the continent to make the much desired impact in getting their wares across to consumers, that there is need for a special vehicle that will help them in handling the marketing end of their products and the intricacies involved in export and trading. This is imperative because the manufacturers are not well versed equipped for those roles, he said. Export trading companies had been one of the approaches used to tackle that challenge, he said, adding that the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area also attempted to address the issue.
Prof. Oramah said that previous efforts by African countries to use manufacturing and industrialisation as engines for development and growth had failed largely as a result of issues such as lack of access to market, lack of capital and skills and inadequate infrastructure. He stated that many large-scale investors had little interest in investing in Africa in a massive way because of the fragmented nature of the African market.
The President suggested that Africa should focus more on labour-intensive manufacturing which had more net effect on the population than on capital intensive industries. He also stressed the need for Africa to focus on skills development, in particular, by going back to building technical schools and supporting universities of technology in order to equip people with the right skills for the kind of jobs that were beginning to emerge. Prof. Oramah used the opportunity to announce that Afreximbank had launched an equity investment fund, the Fund for Export Development in Africa, which would help attract foreign direct investment to support industrialisation and manufacturing in Africa.
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Caption for the Photograph
Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah (right) poses with other speakers, (L-R) Li Yong, Director-General, United Nations Industrial Organisation; President Apha Conde of Guinea; President Edgar Lungu of Zambia; vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan of Cote d’Ivoire and Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, following the high-level event at the United Nations Headquarters.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
The precarious situation of many African countries, especially those whose economies depends wholly on petroleum came to the fore yesterday during a forum in New York. This came as President of African Development Bank President (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina unveiled ambitious plans to scrap coal power stations across the continent of Africa and switch to renewable energy. This unveiling took place at the United Nations climate talks early this week. While addressing leaders and officials from almost 200 countries in New York, on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dr. Adesina outlined efforts to shutter coal-fired power plants and build the “largest solar zone in the world” in the arid Sahel belt. He noted that coal is the past, and renewable energy is the future, saying that the African Development Bank is getting out of coal.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina
This development according to Dr. Adesina is in line with the Bank’s $500 million green baseload scheme which will be rolled out in 2020 and is set to yield $5 billion of investment that will help African countries transition from coal and fossil fuel to renewable energy. He also talked about plans for $20 billion of investments in solar and clean energy that would provide the region’s 250 million people with 10,000 MW of electricity.
The United Nations Climate Summit was attended by presidents, princes and government ministers from around the world as they faced mounting pressure to reduce heat-trapping gas emissions and slow the global rise in temperatures. The UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres also warned of the “dying fossil fuel industry” and said it was still not too late to keep the global rise in temperatures below the benchmark figure of 1.5 degrees Celsius. The UN Scribe added that it will require fundamental transformations in all aspects of society on “how we grow food, use land, fuel our transport and power our economies”.
This is coming at a time many African countries are discovering new oil and gas deposits and exploration activities are going on at frenzied speed, to that effect, analysts say that Africa is in a very tight spot as many of them are presently focusing on growing their economies on fosil fuel at a time renewable energy and most especially electric vehicles are fast becoming the order of the day.
The UN says mankind must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to about 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures to stave off the worst-case predictions of scientists. The Summit was part of the run-up to the international climate talks in 2020, which is the next deadline for countries to make significant emissions reduction pledges under the 2015 global warming deal.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
One of Africa’s major data communications company, Nigeria based MainOne has commenced the expansion of its data center brand to the West African sub-region with the establishment a sister company of its subsidiary MDXi in Ghana. This development according to company sources is in line with the company’s ongoing West African expansion plans. The MDXi, the largest commercial data center services provider in West Africa, is extending its imprint into Ghana with the new facility to expand MainOne’s already robust infrastructure and service profile in Ghana.
MainOne Regional Executive, Mr. Kazeem Oladepo
MainOne sources say that the new data center facility to be based in Appolonia City, a mixed use development 20 kilometers from the center of Accra, will be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2020 to cater to the ever-increasing demand for collocation and interconnection services for multinationals and local businesses seeking shared services facilities for their ICT resources in world class facilities. The sources say that the facility will be designed to international standards consistent with the MainOne brand, assuring collocated customers of the highest quality of service to meet their business requirements.
The facility will also offer customers the opportunity to host infrastructure in a facility guaranteed to provide high levels of availability and rich connectivity with a global network of customers, partners and suppliers thus ensuring 24X7 online deliveries of services for the businesses. MDXi’s world-class infrastructure will feature private data center suites, enterprise-grade 24×7 multi-level security and video surveillance, precision cooling, safety and fire suppression systems with multiple redundancies built into the power, cooling and security infrastructure.
In line with its parent company’s leadership in the telecoms sector, the facility will offer open access connectivity options to all the leading telecom networks in Ghana and direct access to MainOne and other submarine cable systems. The facility will offer access to various Internet Exchanges including the GIX in Ghana, the IXPN in Nigeria, the LINX in the UK, the DECIX in Frankfurt/Lisbon, and the CIVIX in Cote d’Ivoire Internet Exchange as well as the West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX).
Speaking on this expansion process, the Regional Executive of MainOne Mr. Kazeem Oladepo said that as an organization committed to providing broadband infrastructure solutions across West Africa , MainOne is excited to make this investment to support the digitization journey of its customers with the new data center facility. He added that over the past few years, MainOne has grown its business in Ghana to serve major enterprises and “we are delighted to bring our world-class data center expertise to deepen the Ghanaian market. The Ghanaian economy continues to build industrial capacity to show strong economic growth and we need to deploy our best solutions to service the market”.
MDXi’s Tier III data centre in Lekki, Lagos-Nigeria, is the largest purpose-built commercial data center in West Africa, designed with a strong focus on high availability, security, and open access connectivity. It is certified to ISO9001, ISO27001, PCI-DSS and Uptime’s Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility standards. With 600 rack capacity, the data center provides services to a large customer base made up of local and multinational businesses. The facility has experienced tremendous growth in the Financial and Oil & Gas sectors where it has helped advance the digitization efforts of customers and the lessons learned are viewed of particular relevance to these growing sectors in Ghana.
Speaking on the planned expansion, Gbenga Adegbiji, Director, MDXi stated, “Based on our strong track record as the preferred commercial data center in West Africa, it is with great pleasure that we announce the expansion of our MDXi footprint in Ghana. This expansion will see MDXi contributing to the growth of the local economy by providing jobs, enhancing capacity development and economic growth. Most importantly, it ensures that we are fully equipped and positioned to serve more businesses in Ghana as the region continues to grow its digital economy.”
Regarding the impact the expansion will have on the city, Bright Owosu-Amofah, CEO Appolonia City, stated that, “The city’s innovative vision to drive industrialization and social infrastructure has been made possible through partnerships like MainOne and its subsidiary company MDXi, whose data centre infrastructure will play a major role towards the economic growth and viability of Appolonia City, and also be the backbone for a connected ICT ecosystem. We look forward to witnessing the future of Appolonia City businesses being locally hosted and digitally empowered.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
This has been a year for fintech startups. Apart from leading in the largest investment focus for investors, the sector is increasingly becoming a comfort area for investors. Zambian fintech startup, Zazu has joined the train of startup fund raisers, securing US$1.4 million funding round to allow it to grow its team and better connect with its potential user base.
Here Is The Deal
The US$1.4 million in funding, which comes from undisclosed sources, will help Zazu expand its team and better market its product to build its user base.
‘‘With 15 people on the team, we have been able to cover a lot of ground. Our products have been used by over a million Zambians and this investment is going to see us welcome our first 100,000 cardholders, as well as increase our team size,” said Perseus Mlambo, chief executive officer (CEO) at Zazu. Zazu, meanwhile, plans to run another crowdfunding campaign in order to help it take its products out of beta.’’
“Since putting our app in beta, we haven’t disclosed user numbers because we have been focusing on getting user feedback and acting on that. Putting our app in beta saw us get inbound requests from a few investors and to not jeopardise some of the discussions we are having for a larger round next year, we aren’t disclosing source of funds at this time,” he said.
What Zazu Does
Launched in October 2015, Zazu originally allowed farmers with extra produce to connect with new markets, but pivoted into the digital banking space in 2017. The startup ran a successful crowdfunding campaign that same year, and has since then developed two products focused on the Zambian market. The first, a chatbot that uses SMS to teach people how financial services work, has been used by over 1.1. million people, while Zazu has also built a digital wallet app that is connected to a prepaid card to give people more control over their spending.
“Our first crowdfunding campaign allowed us to quickly validate some of our assumptions and meet some incredible investors who have gone on to become advisors at Zazu,” Mlambo said. “Now that we have a working product and the licence to operate the business, we are really looking forward to, in a sense, rewarding those investors for their belief in us back then, and growing our investor base.”
Mlambo did not provide a date as to when the latest crowdfunding campaign would begin, and said at this point the startup could not disclose who was behind the US$1.4 million already raised.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world
Local start-up Giraffe has accomplished what many entrepreneurs would consider impossible: Not only did it win the Seedstars World’s Best Global Startup Award, it has also secured funding from Silicon Valley VC firm Omidyar Network. Here’s how the founders have managed it.
Vital Stats
Players: Anish Shivdasani and Shafin Anwarsha
Company: Giraffe
Established: 2015
Background: Giraffe is a fully-automated mobile recruitment agency service that enables businesses to recruit medium-skilled workers quickly and affordably.
Most start-ups would kill for the sort of trajectory Giraffe has enjoyed over the last 18 months. Since launching early in 2015, the company has enjoyed solid growth and traction, received some great PR, walked away with an international award and managed to secure funding from a Silicon Valley VC firm.
This is all incredibly impressive, and there’s no doubt that most start-ups would love to emulate Giraffe’s success. So how have company founders Anish Shivdasani and Shafin Anwarsha managed to get the whole world talking about Giraffe? Here’s their advice on attracting VCs to your start-up.
Solve a real problem
“We looked at the South African landscape and identified unemployment as a real problem. Then we asked ourselves how we could use technology to address and remedy the problem in the short term, if not solve it,” says Anish Shivdasani.
“We did this for two reasons: Firstly, we felt that there was a certain obligation to try and solve a real problem that the country was dealing with. Secondly, we realised that by looking at an emerging-market problem, it was not something that Silicon Valley start-ups would be looking at. We wouldn’t be competing with large and well-funded companies.”
So what does Giraffe do? Essentially, it allows jobseekers to upload a CV to the company’s mobi site for free. When employers need to hire, they simply submit a staff request at www.giraffe.co.za and algorithms sort through the thousands of CVs in the database and automatically identify, contact and schedule interviews with relevant candidates.
“We wanted to make the hiring process as easy and hassle-free as possible, both for employers and jobseekers. This meant coming up with an innovative solution. We created a system that allowed a CV to be completed quickly, but that didn’t require a lot of text. The system navigates a jobseeker through various options, ascertaining his or her skills and experience. So you don’t need to deal with hard-to-understand text,” says Shivdasani.
Lesson: Come up with a truly innovative product or service, and you’ll find that funding isn’t nearly as hard to come by as people often say. Build a solid company that addresses a real problem, and funding will find its way to you.
Bootstrap as much as possible
Unless you’re a hot Silicon Valley start-up with unicorn potential, you’re unlikely to attract funding until you’ve shown some traction.
Shivdasani and Anwarsha didn’t even think about funding during the early days of Giraffe. “We were focused on getting the platform and the business going,” says Shivdasani. “We had put our own money into the business and managed to give ourselves 12 months of runway. For that period, we didn’t give any thought to VCs and funding.”
“We also found that VCs will usually be reluctant to invest if you haven’t bootstrapped for a while,” adds Anwarsha. “They want to see that your company has some traction, and they want to see that you’re invested — that you’ve put your own money into the business and that you are committed to making it work.”
Lesson: Bootstrapping your business is a good idea. The best way to build a sustainable company is to spend as little money as possible up-front and get cashflow-positive as quickly as possible. Depending on funding for survival is risky. What if the money falls through? Create a business that can sustain itself. Rely on funding only for scaling.
Let the money come to you
“While we bootstrapped early on, we also met with investors. These were mostly people we had been put in contact with via our own personal networks,” says Shivdasani. “Importantly, we never asked for money. In fact, to this day, we haven’t asked for money. We simply introduced ourselves to investors and placed Giraffe on their radar.”
By introducing potential funders to the company, but not asking for money, the founders of Giraffe let the company’s performance speak for itself.
“We simply stated our intentions when we met with investors. When we saw them again six or twelve months later, we could tell them that we had followed through on our plans. We had attained some real traction, which made us worth investing in,” says Anwarsha.
Lesson: It is a stark reality of the start-up scene that the companies without much of a need for funding are usually the companies that attract it. This is hardly surprising. Investors want to fund companies with growth potential, not start-ups struggling for survival. So, focusing too much on attracting investment can be counter-productive. Instead, get the fundamentals right. Build a sustainable business. If you do that, the money will eventually come to you.
Don’t underestimate the value of PR
“While working together in the boardroom, I received an email from SeedStars to take part in the South African leg of its global start-up competition,” recalls Anwarsha.
“Anish told me to forget about the mail and get back to work. We were very careful not to be distracted from our primary goal of building the company, but I was keen to give it a try. Anish said it was okay, but there was one condition: Make sure you win.” Anwarsha did win, and it had a profound and immediate impact on the company.
“Until that moment, we had underestimated the impact that good PR could have,” says Shivdasani. “I was interviewed by John Robbie on 702 for a few minutes. Suddenly our servers were being overrun with new jobseekers and employers. It made us realise that entering things like start-up competitions is a good idea because of the PR it can generate.”
Lesson: Marketing can be useful, but nothing compares to great PR when trying to introduce your start-up to the world. Winning a start-up competition — of which there are no shortage these days — is a good way to do it. Another is to contact media houses and pitch your story. It’s important, though, to focus on the problem you are solving. Journalists are particularly interested in companies that are either innovative, or working at solving social issues.
Don’t just take the money
It’s very hard to say no to VC money, but before you grab anyone’s cash, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the long-term implications.
“It’s important to get on with the people who will be investing in your company. You need to be able to work with them. We were approached by another investor as well, but we ended up going with Omidyar Network — who had approached us after we won the local SeedStars event — because the firm was asking the right questions. They grilled us hard, but we realised that as an impact investor, they could bring value to the business,” says Anwarsha.
Giraffe has also been careful in how much investment it has actually accepted.
“After winning the local SeedStars competition, I travelled to Switzerland to represent Giraffe in the global event,” says Anwarsha. “To my complete surprise, I won. It was a surreal experience.”
The prize came with a maximum investment from SeedStars of $500 000, but Giraffe was reluctant to take it.“We had already closed a round of funding and had enough runway for at least 18 months,” says Shivdasani.
Lesson: Equity in a start-up can be cheap, and many founders have kicked themselves for giving away too much too soon. That’s why it’s important to keep operating with that bootstrapping mentality, even if you’ve received some investment. You want money to last as long as possible. The less money you need, after all, the less of your company you need to give away.
Take note
If no one is willing to invest in your idea, you should take another careful look at it. Focus on solving a real problem and the money will usually follow.
GG van Rooyen is a Senior Copywriter at PageFreezer Software, Inc.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world
Egypt’s startups have been consistent with fund raising this year, with investors so far almost turning sector-agnostic. The latest to join the train is startup MaxAB — a Cairo-based B2B ecommerce marketplace that connects informal food and grocery retailers with suppliers through an easy-to-use app — which has now raised $6.2 million in seed funding. From available data, this would become Egypt’s largest-ever seed round raised by a startup and in the whole of Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
“Nobody has addressed the underserved retailers before,’’ says Belal El-Megharbel, Co-Founder and CEO of MaxAB. ‘‘Retailers are faced with a limited assortment of products, the hassle of dealing with multiple wholesalers and restricted access to credit facilities. At the other end of the supply chain, the FMCGs have limited visibility on market trends, demand patterns and retailers’ business needs — leading to losing potential revenue opportunities,’’
Here Is The Deal
MaxAB’s round was co-led by Dubai-based Beco Capital (who are making their second investment in Egypt after Swvl), Africa-focused 4DX Ventures, and Endure Capital (that has offices in Egypt and the United States), with participation from 500 Startups, Morocco-based Outlierz Ventures and other local investors.
The startup, with this capital, expects to reach half of Egypt’s population before expanding across different markets, it said in a statement.
The previous highest seed round was of $5.85 million raised by Abu Dhabi-based agtech startup Pure Harvest (it revealed recently that it had closed its seed with $5.85 million in multiple tranches).
Earlier this year, Tenderd, a YC-backed Dubai-based heavy equipment rental marketplace raised $5.8 million in what was the largest seed round of MENA at the time.
Why The Investors Invested
On why the investors invested, Yousef Hammad, Managing Partner at Beco Capital, said:
“ ‘This is Sparta’ was the first impression I got when I met this team of warriors, battling one of the biggest inefficiencies on the country’s balance sheets. By leveraging technology, MaxAB is redefining the grocery supply chain in Egypt to fit the requirements of the micro retailers who make up 90% of the grocery market. The metrics they have recorded in such a short period are impressive, and we expect to continue to see double-digit growth as they scale.”
Peter Orth, co-founder and Managing Partner at 4DX Ventures, said:
“We’ve been consistently impressed with how Belal and the rest of the team have executed, and achieved significant traction in a very short period of time. We believe that their B2B e-commerce model is the right way to serve this significant market, and we’re really excited to partner with the team to drive the next phase of growth.”
What MaxAB Does
Founded (last year) and led by Egyptian and Libyan entrepreneurs Belal El-Megharbel who was previously with Careem and Mohamed Ben Halim who previously worked for Aramex, MaxAB, according to the statement, has already built a stock list of over 600 products which includes groceries, beverages, dairy, confectionery and non-food products.
The Cairo based startup connects brands to retailers via its Android app, closing the gap between these traditional retailers (over 400,000 in Egypt) and FMCGs. It aims to automate and simplify $45 billion FMCG food retail market and claims to have recorded month-on-month growth, with 9,000 activated retailers on the platform already. According to its website, MaxAB has processed over 40,000 shipments to date.
“Brands using MaxAB have access to real-time demand monitoring and business intelligence tools, which improve end-to-end supply chain control, and better forecasting. Retailers in remote and under-served areas will have access to a wide variety of products, the convenience of ordering stock online in addition to second-day deliveries not to mention the added benefit of access to credit facilities,” the startup said in a statement.
‘‘We are using data and analytics to understand purchasing and retail behaviors, as well as make the end-to-end process of brands seamless and convenient. This will enable FMCGs to make informed decisions about their purchasing, which will ultimately have a positive effect on their bottom line and catalyze one of the biggest markets in Egypt. This investment round will allow us to accelerate our growth plans and develop new products and services throughout North Africa using the first of its kind B2B ecommerce platform,”the statement further noted.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world
On the occasion of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum this week, Filippo Sona, Managing Director, Global Hospitality Drees & Sommer, asks whether Sub-Saharan Africa is ready for an iconic hotel asset that will shape the image of African tourism.
According to the annual African Hotel Chain Development Pipeline Survey from W Hospitality Group, there are 75,000 branded rooms in 401 hotels in the pipeline across Africa – a growth of 51% in total pipeline rooms since 2015. The big global chains dominate, with Marriott International representing 81 hotels; Accor 57; Hilton 55; and Radisson Hotel Group 47 hotels. The countries with the largest pipelines are Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Ethiopia.
Filippo Sona, Managing Director, Global Hospitality Drees & Sommer.
The pipeline is healthy, brand penetration is strong and Africa is without doubt a market on the hospitality industry’s agenda. However, when it comes to hotel development in Sub-Saharan Africa, there are still a number of issues to overcome to bring this pipeline to fruition.
Investors are well versed in feasibility, which is a banking requirement, and they are savvy when it comes to architecture, but there can be major gaps in their understanding of the full process involved in bringing a hotel to life. There’s a significant need to develop expertise around project management, design, compliance, fire and life safety systems, and MEP, or for developers to partner with those that do have this knowledge.
For example, we’ve seen developers begin construction without a project manager or interior designer on board, meaning hotels go up through shell and core, and simply stop. In these cases, owners often attempt to furnish their hotels with below-par design and products, far removed from the brand standards of their partners.
The international brands know the market and what’s required, but too often, they provide technical services remotely, and without the detailed guidance this market requires, leading to a – potentially very costly – disconnect.
Owners need more support at every stage of the journey to realise this exciting pipeline, whether that be through a brand resource on the ground or through partnering with independent consultancies with local expertise, track records and in-depth industry knowledge.
At Drees & Sommer, we believe a more sophisticated way of approaching development could also bring investors a huge opportunity to step up the game and develop bold new hotels that can compete globally – and possibly even change the tourism landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa.
From midmarket to luxury
Much of the current pipeline is focused on the midmarket; hotels with typically 120-140 keys aimed at the business traveller or domestic tourist. Luxury hotels exist in some markets, such as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia in the North, as well as Nigeria, Tanzania and of course, South Africa, but when it comes to sub-Saharan Africa, this segment is largely untapped.
There are reasons for this; funding requires significant equity and interest rates are high, but beyond that, there’s arguably a lack of vision. Hotels are being developed to meet a need now, but in such a rapidly developing marketplace, will this type of properties still be relevant in 10 years’ time? Could it also be time to embrace the luxury segment and build an iconic asset? Is sub-Saharan Africa in need of its own wow or iconic effect, as witnessed in Dubai?
This was one of the questions I put forward to a panel of brand leaders at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) today, as we debated the criteria for assessing new projects on the continent, the potential business models, and the most sought-after profile of local partners.
There’s already one incredibly exciting project underway, extensively covered in local media, that will bring Kenya its tallest building, with an international brand yet to be disclosed. Located on the beach in Watamu near Malindi, Palm Exotica is a 61-floor luxury mixed-use building set to comprise a 270-room five-star hotel, a high-end shopping mall, executive offices and apartments, a casino and restaurants. Designed by Italian architect Lorenzo Pagnini and funded by a group of foreign investors, the project is still in the planning phase but looks set to transform Watamu into a 21st century tourism destination in Kenya.
With projects like Palm Exotica now on the horizon, sub-Saharan Africa is likely to gain more attention from investors that have previously perceived Africa as offering either wildlife lodges, or mid-market business hotels. Watamu isn’t on the tourism map currently; if all goes ahead, it will be. Where else do opportunities like this lie?
There will be challenges of course; connectivity being the obvious one, as is the need to develop sustainably, enhancing rather than impacting natural assets. But, in such a competitive continent, fuelled by rapid developments in technology and a growing middle class, surely it’s time to push the boundaries of Sub-Saharan Africa’s hotel landscape. The question is; who will be bold enough to do so?
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
Nigerian born, US trained attorney, Onyeka Ojogbo has been appointed to lead the Centurion Law Group activities in Europe through the newly established Frankfurt office. The office in Germany will focus on developing opportunities for German and African clients in the energy sector. According to sources at Centurion Group, Onyeka Ojogbo will be handling a growing portfolio of clients coming from Germany and Western Europe, and work on further attracting investments from European energy companies into Africa.
CEO of Centurion Law Group NJ Ayuk
Speaking on the development the CEO of Centurion Law Group NJ Ayuk commended Ms. Ojogbo for her industriousness and initiative since she joined the firm of attorneys. He added that ‘since she joined the firm, Onyeka has demonstrated a strong entrepreneurial mindset and an ability to work on the most complex transactions and deals” noting that “her appointment to our new office in Germany makes perfect sense given her qualifications and capacities to lead a team and represent the firm on the most demanding transactions and negotiations. She is a top notch lawyer and deal maker, and is a benefit for Europe and Africa,” he pointed out.
Centurion according to the CEO do recognize the need to further open up African energy markets to European companies and entrepreneurs who can bring value to the energy industry and work hand in hand with African companies. Germany he noted has a lot to offer Africa in areas such as gas-to-power, clean and new energy and I look forward to being part of a new story within Europe and Africa’s energy cooperation. This development according to company sources is in line with the company’s expansion plans as it rolls out Centurion Plus, its latest lawyers-on-demand offering launched in 2018. Operating as a division of Centurion, Centurion Plus offers cost-savings and efficient flexible legal and advisory services to corporate clients, who can select from a pool of about 190 carefully vetted, on-demand attorneys and advisors for temporary and project-based legal services.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.
