Appetito, an Egyptian grocery delivery startup, has announced that it has raised $2 million in a Pre-Series A round that will be used to accelerate its plans to scale rapidly.
Led by US-based early-stage VC, Jedar Capital, the investment also saw participation from Ghana-based Golden Palm Investments and US-based DFS Lab.
Founded in March 2020 by Shehab Mokhtar, Appetito operates a dark store model, with products sourced directly from manufacturers, before being stored in fulfillment centres across the country and delivered directly to customers. The startup offers an extensive range of private label products to all areas of Cairo, Giza and Alexandria with pre-scheduled and next-day delivery.
The startup currently operates seven dark stores in Cairo, though Mokhtar and co. plan to increase that to 150 by 2024 – a feat that is certainly within reach considering the size of the market and the accelerated need for increased e-commerce services.
“The grocery retail market size in Egypt is valued at $60 billion,” said Mokhtar, who also serves as Appetito’s CEO. “The fact that 2% of it is currently online, creates a massive opportunity for growth betting on the younger generations as 50% of the Egyptian population are below the age of 25 years.”
In addition, Moktar has revealed to sources that pan-African expansion plans are in the works, as Egypt’s entrepreneurial ecosystem slowly but surely looks away from MENA and towards Africa – markets that share much more in terms of challenges and opportunities for Egypt than much of the Arab world.
