Tag: Food delivery & E-Commerce

Food-tech startup Kune Food readies to serve Kenyans healthy, affordable meals following closure of US$1m pre-seed funding

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KENYA – Kune Food, a Kenyan based cloud kitchen concept operator is set to officially launch its on-demand delivery service and avail freshly made meals to consumers in August, following the successful completion of its pre-seed funding round. According to reports by Disrupt Africa, the food-tech company has closed a pre-seed funding round worth US$1 million to help it scale after a successful pilot, selling more than 500 meals in one month. Kune will use about 10% of the total investment to finalize on the establishment of its factory and…

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E-commerce marketplace start-up Fatura secures US$3m in pre-series A round to expand offering

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EGYPT – Fatura, a Cairo-based ecommerce marketplace connecting FMCG wholesalers to retailers, has secured US$3 million in a pre-Series A round led by Sawari Ventures and Arzan Venture Capital. The round also saw participation from Egypt Ventures, EFG-EV, Cairo Angels, and Khwarizmi Ventures. The boost came after the company raised an unknown amount of money in a seed round in July 2020, led by Disruptech, Egypt’s first fintech-centric VC Fund, with participation from EFG EV, and Cairo Angels. With the new financing, Fatura will be able to expand its services…

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SA, Nigeria and Kenya driving e-commerce volumes, demand of essential and nutritious food products in Sub-Saharan Africa

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AFRICA – South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya have been identified as the top market contributors to e-commerce in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last three years, with Ghana also showing growth, having replaced Kenya in the top three contributors in 2020. This is according to a recent white paper released by Visa titled ‘eCommerce developments across Sub Saharan Africa, indicating that although SSA may be one of the smallest regions of e-commerce globally, it shows steady growth potential. During the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the region saw new…

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Glovo launches first African micro fulfilment center in Kenya, expands Q-commerce arm

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KENYA – Global on-demand delivery platform Glovo, has launched its first African micro fulfilment centre in Nairobi, Kenya, expanding its ‘Q-commerce’ division -next generation e-commerce. The new Glovo Market, is an extension of its Q-Commerce that consumers use to order from retail and neighbourhood stores and have the supplies delivered at their preferred location. With the new offering, individuals and small businesses with or without a brick-and-mortar footprint can sell the products on Glovo’s platform which will be fulfilled through its warehousing and logistics services. Glovo Market will be accessible…

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Turkish grocery delivery firm Getir raises US$550m to fund expansion into North America

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TURKEY – Getir, a pioneer in the ultrafast grocery delivery market, has raised more than US$550 million in a Series D funding round even as it continues with its ambitious expansion plans. The company which is reported to now have a valuation of US$7.5 billion has already set up shop in London, the UK and in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Getir’s couriers are set to hit the road in Paris, France and Berlin, Germany in the coming week, according to a statement from the company. The recent funding round comes on…

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New global standard for online sale of alcohol introduced to support responsible drinking

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GLOBAL – A new global standard for the online sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages has been launched by major stakeholders in the industry as part of efforts towards promoting responsible drinking among consumers globally. The stakeholders involved in the project include 12 leading beer, wine, and spirits companies that form the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) and 14 prominent global and regional online retailers, and e-commerce and delivery platforms. IARD says that the international initiative is focused on supporting consumers’ increasing demands for greater convenience with enhanced standards…

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SA retailer Shoprite offers seamless grocery purchase to Paymenow app users

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SOUTH AFRICA – South African fintech startup Paymenow has partnered with leading retailer Shoprite, to enable its 50,000 users purchase food and groceries from the store via its Paymenow app. The Stellenbosch-based startup, was formed in 2019 as a salary advance payment platform with the aim of easing the burden inflicted by payday and micro lenders through affordable, real-time, access to cash. The company has now expanded its offerings, giving employees who have signed up on the app, ability to fund a Shoprite Money Market Account. This acts as a…

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Jumia yet to turn to profitability, reports 6.4% decline in Q1 revenue

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AFRICA – The New York Stock Exchange listed Africa-focused eCommerce company, Jumia has posted first-quarter revenues of €27.4 million (US$33m), a 6.4% drop from the €29.3 million (US$35.3m) that it reported in Q1 2020. Interestingly, Jumia seems to have generated more revenue during the period under review from third party sales at US$24m compared to US$23m in Q1 2020. But the gains were wiped out by first-party revenue declining by 35% from US$12m in Q1 2020 to US$8m in Q1 2021. According to reports by Tech Cruch, the eCommerce giant…

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Flipkart to expand warehouse capacity to strengthen grocery handling infrastructure

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INDIA –  Flipkart, one of the largest online grocery retailers in India, has said it plans to expand its fulfilment centre capacity for grocery by more than 8,000 sq ft over the next three months across Delhi, Kolkata and other cities. The Walmart-owned company said in a statement that the additional fulfilment centre capacity will bolster its capacity to cater to over 73,000 grocery orders per day. “With this additional infrastructure, the marketplace will bring the ease of online grocery shopping to more users across the country,” a statement said.…

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Online grocery, at home consumption among the top food trends in Korea amid Covid-19- USDA

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SOUTH KOREA – Although South Korea has been able to manage the pandemic with only 2,158 cases 35 deaths per million people, the food industry landscape has however tremendously changed with consumers exhibiting new preferences that were not as popular before the pandemic. According to a recently released report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), online food sales which already growing before the pandemic jumped sharply in the first quarter of 2020 after the virus hit. On an annual basis, USDA estimates that online food sales grew by…

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