Lagos-based Pricepally, an innovative eCommerce platform, and digital food cooperative which enables consumers to buy food and wholesale products directly from producers, as well as sharing bulk purchases with other users for additional savings, has secured an undisclosed six-figure amount of funding in a pre-seed investment round led by VC Samuaria Incubate, an Asia-based VC, and Launch Africa Ventures, a leading Africa early-stage VC fund.
Rena Yoneyama, Managing Partner at Managing Partner at Samurai Incubate provides insight into why the VC has decided to financially back the innovative African tech startup.
“We are extremely happy to be able to support Pricepally as an investor. Inflation has escalated rapidly in Nigeria, influencing food prices, though food is one of the most important necessities for daily life. We believe that Pricepally’s solution would give huge benefits for many people, families, and businesses.”
Pricepally
Launched in 2019 and founded by Luther Lawoyin, Jumai Abalaka, Deepak Bansal, and Monsunmola Adefemi, the tech startup is a digital food cooperative platform for African cities. The unique platform enables families and businesses to purchase food in bulk or share bulk food items with others, decreasing the overall cost for many families and positively contributing to eradicating hunger in various communities.
Pricepally aims to tackle exorbitant food prices in African cities, increasing access to food resources for all. The food is sourced directly from farmers and wholesalers, resulting in a cost-effective source of grocer items when compared to retail store prices. Pricepally’s innovative solution towards increasing the access of food for African communities is two-fold, it both supports local wholesalers and is an affordable solution for most African communities.
Leveraging off the power of collective buying, Pricepally empowers users to use their collective bargaining power with direct wholesalers when purchasing in bulk, saving money for all the consumers involved in the transaction. Baljinder Sharma of Launch Africa Ventures side explains that the business model created by the African tech startup is a ground-breaking mechanism to tackle food prices and food shortages in Africa.
“Pricepally has a really innovative model whereby it unlocks and directly transfers value to consumers – something that was earlier absorbed by large established multinationals and increased their profit margins in the process. By giving households access to cheaper staples, we believe it directly allows people to save more and spend more on education, health, and personal development. We are confident that it will promote economic growth in the region. Luther has the right vision for the company’s expansion and the drive to grow the business across Lagos and beyond.”
