Egypt’s social e-commerce platform Brimore, which launched in 2017, has announced a company-wide restructuring in response to recent world events in an effort to cut expenses and boost profits.
The recent Russian-Ukrainian war threw a shadow over the Middle East, but Brimore was eager to confirm that it will continue its strategic strategy in the local market to give thousands of new work opportunities for young men and women in Egypt and to deliver the local product at economic costs.
e-commerce
The conflict, according to Brimore, created enormous difficulties for businesses in many different industries and marketplaces. As a result, management made the tough call to initiate an operational rebuilding process in order to realise the company’s objectives, chief among which is profitability.
“Brimor” states it is trying to meet the demands of Egyptian consumers by expanding the availability of its locally produced goods at reasonable costs.
Brimore, founded five years ago, has developed a business model that employs technology to market the local product at affordable prices; with the tireless efforts of all the active and supportive parties of Brimor, the process of rebuilding commenced in a timely and effective manner, befitting the scale of the company’s operations in the Egyptian market.
The press release went on to say that Brimore’s investors, suppliers, customers, employees, and founders are all working together “on the heart of one man” with unwavering commitment and determination to write the final chapter in Brimore’s success story and cement Brimore’s place in the modern Egyptian economy.
By providing its sellers, the vast majority of whom are women, with new and more diverse ways to earn money, Brimore has been able to capitalise on market penetration prospects for developing brand owners. That individuals may launch successful local businesses utilising integrated digital and physical marketing strategies.
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://insightsbyexpert
Brimore, an Egyptian and, to some extent, African ecommerce powerhouse, has received $25 million in a Series A investment. The fresh financing round was spearheaded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Endure Capital.
Fintech behemoth Fawry, Flourish, and Endeavor Catalyst Fund are among the other investors. Existing investors such as Algebra Ventures (which led both series), Disruptech, and Vision Ventures participated in the $800,000 seed round and $3.5 million Series A.
“We started working on Brimore with the mindset of actually manufacturing products ourselves. However, producing our products wasn’t the wisest decision at that time as it was a very asset-heavy model,” said CEO Mohamed Abdulaziz said in an interview.
“So we started scaling with listing different products. And at the same time, it was very insightful to see how the network formed on the other side. From a seller perspective, we started onboarding more and more sellers. Most of them happen to be women.”
The money will be used to “expand in Egypt by 50x within the next couple of years,” according to the company. Other monies will be used to increase the company’s logistics and operational infrastructure, double its employees, triple product catalogs, and quadruple its network of vendors and suppliers.
Why The Investors Invested
The company has achieved considerable traction three years after it was founded. Brimore boasts that their revenue has increased 400% in the last three years. On the platform, there are over 300 vendors with over 8,000 distinct SKUs from packaged meals, personal care, and household goods. In addition, the social commerce platform has created a network of 75,000 vendors in Egypt, with 74% of them being women, covering 27 cities, mostly in rural and isolated areas.
This is the IFC’s largest direct investment in the social commerce market internationally, according to Walid Labadi, the country manager for Egypt.
Brimore’s founding team also has deep experience in the industry. Both founders saw how difficult it was for developing companies to get their products to the mass market while working in the FMCG industry. This was owing to the dominance of established brands, who had created distribution infrastructure for themselves over time.
A Look At What The Startup Does
The company was founded by Mohamed Abdulaziz and Ahmed Sheikha in 2017. Brimore is an omnichannel social commerce platform that connects both worlds through an app. As a result, small and medium-sized suppliers may be able to provide access to these emerging items to these individuals, who also work as sellers and word-of-mouth marketers. This manner, the manufacturers can focus on their promotion and marketing while the sellers start their e-commerce enterprises and earn some extra money.
Brimore employs “its unique infrastructure–which is an ecosystem of supply, demand, logistics, and finance– and patented technology to provide market penetration chances to developing brand owners,” according to a statement.
“We are building a smart and reliable infrastructure and a full ecosystem that enable masses to do commerce. So anyone– with a shop or a stay at home mom–can do commerce business with Brimore either online or offline,” said Ahmed Sheikha, the company’s chief business and investment officer.
When vendors sign up for the site, they are presented with a variety of product photos from various manufacturers. They post these images on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram, as well as generate orders and place them on the app. Brimore’s delivery process is determined by where the sellers want their products delivered: to themselves or to their end users. While many sellers prefer to have their products delivered to their homes, Brimore’s owners claim that the availability and flexibility of both alternatives set it apart from similar social commerce platforms like Taager.
Brimore earns a profit from the pricing difference between suppliers and sellers. A spin-off named Milezmore handles the company’s warehouse, last-mile, and fulfillment infrastructure; prior to last year, third-party logistics managed such activities.
According to Abdulaziz, 24 percent of Brimore’s sellers report a’significant change’ in their lifestyle and 88 percent indicate an increase in revenue since they started using the platform.
Brimore’s aspirations to expand financial products, particularly loans, and replicate its Egyptian efforts across other African markets were also explored by Abdulaziz.
“We want to crack the concept of go to market in Africa. We know that Africa is like 54 different markets with distinct dynamics of every market,” he said. “Our vision is if we crack the concept of go-to-market through people and reaching the online and offline and the component of trust all together, towards the new age of commerce, the cross border trade will be our next thing. Anyone can produce anything can sell anywhere because we enable the hard part about market access.”
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
Egypt-based ecommerce startup, Brimore, is preparing to raise more funding to strengthen its business in Egypt after receiving a $3.5 million investment in May 2020. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is exploring a $5 million investment in the four-year-old social ecommerce startup.
Team Brimore
As a result, the World Bank Group member institution in responsibility of the private sector in emerging markets might take part in a series of events. A round table has been launched in support of the startup that Mohamed Abdulaziz, the current CEO, and Ahmed Sheikha, the commercial director, co-founded in 2017.
“This investment proposal in IFC shares will be used to finance the expansion of the company and expand its activities in Egypt,” IFC’s published investment plan disclosed.
The fundraising is expected to take place in the coming months, according to various media reports.
The firm, which uses a social commerce model to reach underrepresented sectors, is anticipated to raise $15 to $20 million in funding and welcome new shareholders to its round table.
This investment proposal comes more than a year after a $3.5 million investment was mobilized by this start-up located in the Netherlands but operating in Egypt to expand its infrastructure and develop new products for its clients.
Brimore looks like a regular ecommerce startup with a touch. The startup’s platform includes supply chain and payment facilities which it claims to be serving hundreds of SMEs, selling thousands of products including packaged foods, personal care, and household goods.
Founded in 2017 by Mohamed Abdulaziz, Ahmed Sheikha, and Mahmoud Refaay, Brimore provides small and medium-sized manufacturers in Egypt with access to nationwide distribution through its large network of individuals (freelancers) who sell and recruit others to sell consumer goods within their local communities.
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
Egypt is back with more investments! Investors are preparing for the post pandemic era. Call it a modified form of network marketing! Brimore is what it is, and it has secured the trust of one of Egypt’s most influential and vibrant local investors Algebra Ventures. The startup has announced a major funding deal in its Pre-Series A round in which Algebra Ventures along with other investors poured in $3.5 million to help the startup move to the next stage in its existence.
co-founder and CEO, Mohamed Abdulaziz
“I’m proud of the trust our investors are showing in Brimore. We continue to provide unique opportunities to our micro-distributors and suppliers in such a tough time. Our growth strategy was built on strong fundamentals and healthy unit economics which has enabled us to maintain 10X year-on-year growth while facing several challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic,” co-founder and CEO, Mohamed Abdulaziz said.
Here Is What You Need To Know
Participating in this round is lead investor, Egypt’s leading venture capital firm Algebra Ventures, as well as Disruptech, Vision Ventures, and existing investors 500 Startups, and Flat6Labs.
With this new round of funding, Brimore will invest more in product development, operational infrastructure, and its growth momentum.
Investors trooped into Brimore for one thing: Brimore is bringing a slightly different ecommerce model to the table. The coronavirus is also a major factor with more and more lives now spent on the internet.
“We believe that the large base of consumers in Egypt is best served through customized technology solutions. Brimore is developing world-class technology for our local market which will open up tremendous untapped potential in distribution of goods,” Tarek Assaad, the Managing Partner of Algebra Ventures, said,
“Mohamed and Ahmed have led the company through different challenges and delivered exceptional performance since our first investment in the company last year. We are delighted to continue supporting Brimore as it continues to expand its reach and solidify its leading market position,” he added.
Ahmed Sheikha, the co-founder and CBO
For a VC that boasts to have invested in leading startups in Egypt, such as Eventtus, Elmenus, Algebra Ventures’ investment formula usually follows an arc:
“We invest in technology startups that leverage innovation to transform large markets,’’ the VC notes on its website. “We seek high-growth companies, led by passionate and capable teams, that have a unique value proposition, and that can generate significant economic returns. We look for entrepreneurial teams that possess vision and insight as well as the execution skills needed to build scalable companies.”
Brimore looks like a regular ecommerce startup with a touch. The startup’s platform includes supply chain and payment facilities which it claims to be serving hundreds of SMEs, selling thousands of products including packaged foods, personal care, and household goods.
Founded in 2017 by Mohamed Abdulaziz, Ahmed Sheikha, and Mahmoud Refaay, Brimore provides small and medium-sized manufacturers in Egypt with access to nationwide distribution through its large network of individuals (freelancers) who sell and recruit others to sell consumer goods within their local communities.
“For the past two years, on-the-ground operations and commercial planning have been the cornerstone of Brimore’s success. We are now focusing on technology, data analytics and smart financial solutions to make a solid contribution. This new round of investment will enable us to expand our amazing team of star performers aspiring to transform the retail industry in Egypt,”Ahmed Sheikha, the co-founder and CBO of the startup, said.
Brimore in a statement said that it has enabled tens of thousands of social sellers in all the 27 governorates across Egypt to start and grow their businesses with zero initial capital. The startup said that its typical sellers are females who earn hundreds of dollars per month and collectively reach over a million consumers.
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.
