Omnibiz Wants To Digitise B2B Supply Chain in Nigeria, Gets $3 Million In Seed Round

Despite the proliferation of shopping malls and the rise of venture capital-based e-commerce companies such as Jumia, informal retail still reigns supreme in Africa.

According to a 2016 PwC study, 90% of sales in major African countries come through informal channels such as markets and Kiosks. This is a huge market, ready to be digitised, and since the last five years, startups in Africa have had to raise millions of dollars in the process. Omnibiz from Lagos joins the fight today raising $ 3 million to expand into new markets. 

Omnibiz is a Business to Business (B2B) eCommerce Startup in Nigeria. Its mode of operation requires that it brings together manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods and retailers by digitising the supply-chain stakeholders. It offers a mobile application, WhatsApp platform and a phone number that retailers can use to stock their shops. In a statement to TechCrunch, Omnibiz confirmed that these retailers “can place orders at their convenience and have goods delivered to their doorstep at no cost.” 

Deepankar Rustagi founded Omnibiz two years ago. He is a Nigerian-based Indian and has lived in the country for more than twenty years. Rustagi first started VConnect in 2011 as an online marketplace and search engine to find local professionals for particular service needs. 

According to Rustagi, VConnect had over 500,000 companies listed on the platform before it finally shut down in 2017. Since then, he has consulted for many brands in the FMCG space. What brought about Omnibiz in 2019 (two years later) was the need for manufacturers of these fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and their retailers to innovate their processes using technology. 

Omnibiz uses a retail-asset distribution model. That is, anytime a retailer places an order on the company’s platform, such goods are requested from distributors who are in partnership with Omnibiz and store goods on behalf of the manufacturers. These distributors also manage the warehousing and transportation procedures. Omnibiz allows these distributors to focus exclusively on warehousing and transfer responsibility for the delivery of goods to Omnibiz logistics providers. This logistics provider’s drivers use Omnibiz to efficiently distribute orders to retailers within 24 hours. 

Digitising this value chain is helping retailers save working capital. Omnibiz connects retailers with over 20 brands which includes Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark. 

The Nigerian Startup currently exists in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kaduna and plans Ibadan and Kano, by the end of August.  

The seed round, which saw Omnibiz’ investment to a total of $4 million, was led by other startups in Africa such as V&R Africa, Timon Capital and Tangerine Insurance. 

 The round also included Lofty Inc., Musha Ventures, Sunu Capital, Launch Africa, and Rising Tide Africa. Rustagi noted that the company also got funding from Seedstars and will join in the accelerator’s growth program.