MaxAB, Egypt’s Food and Grocery B2B E-Commerce Startup, Raises $40M Pre-Series B Round
MaxAB, an Egyptian-based food, and grocery B2B e-commerce and distribution platform that connects suppliers with underserved traditional retailers and provides a variety of finance solutions across Egypt and Morocco, announced today that it has secured a $40 million pre-series B equity round to boost its growth across the MENAP region.
Several new investors joined the round, including Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, through its Long Term Capital strategy; British International Investment (BII; formerly known as CDC), the UK government’s development finance institution; and DisruptAD, ADQ’s venture platform, as well as existing investors, Beco Capital, 4DX Ventures, Flourish Ventures, and Africa Platform Capital.
MaxAB’s e-commerce business has served approximately 150,000 unique traditional retailers since its inception, delivering 2.5 million orders while maintaining an industry-leading delivery success rate. MaxAB began implementing fintech solutions across its merchant base in 2021, to digitize the flow of cash and transform the startup into a one-stop shop for traditional retailers. The b2b ecommerce platform has established itself as the market leader in its industry, with a presence in all key cities in Egypt and Casablanca, Morocco, and plans further geographic expansions to achieve full geographical coverage of Morocco by the end of 2023, as well as an entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
MaxAB will use the funds for further growth in its e-commerce arm, expand its technology and product teams, and scale its fintech arm by offering a broader range of embedded finance solutions.
What the stakeholders are saying
MaxAB Founders
Speaking on the funding round, Belal El-Megharbel, CEO and Co-Founder at MaxAB, said, “Within just four years of operations, we have been able to re-engineer the informal food and grocery market in Egypt and Morocco. We are thrilled to have gained the recognition and financial backing of world-class investors, adding to the reception and support we receive from the retailers and suppliers we serve. Going by the quality of investors who are partnering with us, we are excited about venturing into the next stage of the MaxAB journey, which is a further consolidation of the informal grocery sector, heavy focus, and investments in Fintech and replicating our success in new markets to grow beyond borders.”
Also speaking, Amer Al Ameri, Head of Venture Capital and Technology investments at ADQ on his part said “MaxAB are building technology-driven products and services that solve for challenges around better integrated, efficient, reliable grocery supply chains for the MENAP region. In digitizing the vastly traditional, multi-layered, and fragmented food and grocery sector supply chain, they have broken the mold and presented a domino effect of opportunities, one of which is the launch of the fintech vertical. We are happy to be embarking on this journey with MaxAB and are looking forward to providing strategic guidance for continued growth and impact.”
About MaxAB
In 2018, Belal El-Megharbel and Mohamed Ben Halim co-founded MaxAB. The startup acquired WaystoCap, a Morocco-based B2B e-commerce and distribution platform last year, expanding its services to the Maghreb.
MaxAB has over the years established a proven playbook of experiences, technology, data, and relationships that it will leverage to launch in new markets and is looking to replicate the same success across the region after achieving unprecedented success in Egypt and Morocco. MaxAB estimates that more than 750,000 small businesses in Egypt and Morocco alone require its services, with Saudi Arabia being especially appealing due to the government’s push to digitize the informal sector and the FMCG’s willingness to experiment with new business models.