EGYPT – Suplyd, an Egypt-based startup that digitises supply chain operations for the Mena region’s hotels, restaurants, and catering (HORECA) industries, has clinched US$1.6 million in a pre-seed funding round.
The fundraising saw participation by Endure Capital, Seedstars, Camel Ventures, Falak Startups alongside other local and regional investors.
Founded in January this year, Suplyd’s B2B platform brings efficiency in the supply chain operations for businesses in the food service industry by allowing digital order procurement, payment and fulfilment.
Through its platform, restaurants get access to a wide range of products on demand, saving them man hours wasted in sourcing for goods offline. It also ensures that the businesses acquire the goods at competitive prices.
The platform is also able to support suppliers through its network of tech-enabled fulfilment centres, which offers them real-time analytics and actionable insights concerning demand patterns and trends.
This enables suppliers to minimise waste, utilise industry assets, bring transparency to the market, and resolves the uncertainty of restaurants receiving their supplies.
Suplyd plans to use the new funding to scale its technology and expand within and beyond Cairo, and to explore other growth opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the near future.
“What sets the HORECA business apart from regular retail business are the sensitivity of most of its goods, the fast product flow throughout the whole supply chain, and the limited delivery windows for the operators.
“Suppliers have to streamline their internal operations to cater to restaurants’ requests and fluctuating demands. Having to do this in a space where most transactions are handled manually is nearly impossible.
“Suplyd offers a smooth purchasing experience, clarity of product availability, guaranteed delivery dates as well as transparent pricing. Coupling that with its useful analytics, reporting, and digital records enables suppliers to handle their complex internal logistics and optimize their assets. That is just the start of what Suplyd is here to offer,” said Ahmed ElMahdy, Co-founder and COO of Suplyd.
Suplyd is currently serving 500 customers in greater Cairo, having grown by almost 50% month over month since launch.
The startup, which is stepping up competition for players like OneOrder, expects greater growth over the next year sustained by its expansion plans geared toward serving Egypt’s vast HoReCa industry, which is supported by over 400,000 restaurants.
Appetito and Jumlaty merge operations
Meanwhile, two foodtech eGroceries startups, Saudi-based Jumlaty and Egypt-based Appetito, have merged their operations into a new entity, NOMU.
Aiming to become MENA’s leading food-tech supply chain platform, NOMU is currently present in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, with the capacity to cover the existing infrastructure of 25 million people and 100,000 F&B stores including strategic partners such as, Savola, Almarai and and Nestle.
“Appetito and Jumlaty have been, separately but similarly, working hard to reinvent the grocery supply chain. Both have focused on reliability, speed, and affordability, building a solid reputation and a loyal customer base of families and F&B businesses.
“Our merger will set us on the path to reach SAR 100 Million in revenue (USD 25 Million) and positive EBITDA within 2023, with important synergies on the tech, marketing and procurement fronts,” commented Shehab Mokhtar, CEO of Appetito, now CEO of NOMU.
The deal was facilitated by a shared mindset and direction, as Salman Attieh, CEO of Jumlaty, now Chairman of NOMU, stated, “Both companies shared the same vision on how to transform the industry, combining smart tech, lean operations with a deep focus on unit economics.
“Together we capture the entire value chain, from monthly shopping to weekly refills and outdoor dining. Most importantly our journey now as one company will be accelerated thanks to an incredible team of international talents and supportive investors.”
NOMU will have its headquarters in Riyadh, with a holding structure in Abu Dhabi’s International Financial Centre, ideally placed to develop its operations further, with ambitions to cover Pakistan and key sub-Saharan countries in the near future.
For all the latest food industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
