Egypt’s MaxAB, an e-commerce business that connects food and grocery retailers to suppliers, said it raised $40 million in an early-stage funding round led by Netherlands-based venture capitalist RMBV to drive its regional expansion.
The company’s Series-A round also raised funds from seven other investors including the International Finance Corporation, Flourish Ventures, Crystal Stream Capital, Rise Capital and Endeavour Catalyst, MaxAB said in a statement on Monday. Existing investors Beco Capital and 4DX Ventures also participated in the round, bringing the company’s total investment to date to more than $45m.
“Being backed by a diverse group of renowned and experienced investors will enable us to rapidly scale our operations across the Middle East and North Africa region and developing markets,” Belal El-Megharbel, co-founder and chief executive of MaxAB, said. “This additional capital will allow us to continue to give retailers the economies of scale our platform offers while serving many more new customers.”
Established in 2018, MaxAB serves local independent stores across Egypt, North Africa’s largest economy. The online B2B platform offers traditional retailers the convenience of dealing with one supplier, clear pricing, on-demand delivery and value-added services, it said. On the other hand, suppliers benefit from data-driven technologies to streamline the supply chain.
MaxAB will use the funds to grow across the Mena region, following plans for expansion to every key city in Egypt by the end of 2021.
“We are looking at a number of markets with dynamics similar to Egypt, where minimal adjustments to MaxAB’s existing operating model would be required to best serve retailers, as well as more mature markets with the infrastructure in place to support rapid scalability,” the company said in response to questions from The National.
It also plans to scale recently launched business lines such as embedded finance and a broadening of its supply chains. To drive this expansion, MaxAB will grow its workforce as part of efforts to position Egypt as one of the main tech hubs in the region, it said.
Lead investor RMBV, which manages several institutional private equity funds focused on North Africa with more than $400m of invested capital, focuses on three main consumer sectors of education, health care, FMCG and the digital economy, according to its website.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the unique structure of Egypt’s economy, with hundreds of thousands of shopkeepers and small businesses becoming the lifeline of our country at the time of crisis,” Ahmed Badreldin, managing partner at RMBV, said. MaxAB entrepreneurs have “created a transformative business with impressive growth that is a catalyst for financial inclusion and job creation”.
MaxAB serves more than 55,000 retailers, fulfilled more than one million orders and created more than 1,600 direct jobs in the past three years, according to the statement.
The business has grown more than fivefold year-on-year, fuelled by its ability to fulfil deliveries within 24 hours of orders being placed, Mr El-Megharbel said.
The company is leading a push towards embedded finance – banking-like services offered by non-banks – as part of its offerings, Ameya Upadhyay, venture partner at Flourish Ventures, said. Flourish Ventures, a $500m FinTech-focused venture firm, is backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
“MaxAB is set to play a central role in retailers’ financial lives – it directly boosts retailers’ profits by reducing the hassle and the cost of buying inventory and, with embedded FinTech products in its core offering, customers can easily buy more goods and pay for them seamlessly,” he said.
Egypt’s start-up scene is thriving. Start-ups in North Africa’s largest economy received a record $190m in funding last year, accounting for more than one fifth of every venture capital deal in the broader Mena region, according to data platform Magnitt.
MaxAB, which in Arabic means gains or returns, raised $6.2m during its seed round of investment in September 2019, according to its LinkedIn page.
Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
'Dark Waters'
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper
Rating: ****
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The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
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EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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If you go...
Flying
There is no simple way to get to Punta Arenas from the UAE, with flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi requiring at least two connections to reach this part of Patagonia. Flights start from about Dh6,250.
Touring
Chile Nativo offers the amended Los Dientes trek with expert guides and porters who are met in Puerto Williams on Isla Navarino. The trip starts and ends in Punta Arenas and lasts for six days in total. Prices start from Dh8,795.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
6pm: Liwa Oasis (PA) Group 2 | Dh300,000 | 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 (PA) Group 3 | Dh300,000 | 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
SPECS
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If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
