Cairo based startup MaxAB has raised $6.2m in seed funding. The company provides a B2B online platform to helps small grocery store owners manage procurement and delivery of goods. The company was founded in 2018 and already has 270 employees, and 9,000 retailers using its app.
CEO Belal El-Megharbel, who previously worked for a ride hailing app acquired by Uber, points to the fragmented supply chain for small retailers, pointing out that “small shops in Cairo have to go through six or seven-layers in between — the shipping, unboxing, determining product quality, and setting base prices.”
MaxAB, which currently operates in Cairo only, has raised the seed investment in a round led by Beco Capital and 4DX Ventures. It plans another funding round in 2020. 4DX Ventures previously led a $2m funding round for Kenyan supply chain platform Sokowatch, which provides a similar service to MaxAB.
Egypt and Kenya are popular destinations for supply chain apps: both markets offer large consumer markets with relatively strong tech ecosystems, high mobile penetration, established domestic manufacturers, including several multinationals and a fragmented traditional grocery trade sector being left behind by modern grocery retailers.
Among the platforms Trendtype has covered are Brimore, another sales model targeting traditional retailers in Egypt, and Twiga, a Kenyan mobile-based B2B fresh produce distribution platform.
