OneOrder, an Egyptian startup that offers food supplies to hotels, restaurants, and cafés through a FinTech-enabled restaurant management platform, has announced the closing of a $3 million US seed round. This funding will be used to grow several elements of the business.
OneOrder was created to address the three primary supply chain concerns facing Egypt’s restaurant industry: affordability, quality, and timing. Its inventor, prominent Egyptian restaurateur Tamer Amer, is the brainchild behind two of Egypt’s most popular restaurant franchises, Fuego Sushi and Longhorn Texas BBQ.
Egyptian eateries may get all of their supplies from a single application thanks to the startup’s platform. Similar inefficiencies in the restaurant supply chain exist in other MENA nations, and OneOrder hopes to eventually broaden its geographic scope throughout the region.
Leading MENA early-stage VC A15 joins Nclude as a follow-on investor in the startup’s US $3 million seed round. Delivery Hero Ventures, a firm funded by the world’s largest food delivery company Delivery Hero, has joined the round and its managing partner Brendon Blacker has been appointed to the OneOrder board. Following an initial US $1 million pre-seed investment, headed by A15, and US $6.5 million in working capital financing from other local NBFIs, the news increases the company’s total investment to US $10.5 million.
The technology-driven food and hospitality platform will also invest more money in growing its physical presence and increasing the footprint of its warehouses throughout Egypt and the MENA region.
OneOrder will enhance its internal operations and tech personnel, grow its sales team to increase its market share, and substantially invest in its proprietary technology using the most recent financial infusion.
“As a restauranteur myself, I have witnessed first-hand the avoidable overheads and hassles HoReCa businesses go through in serving their customers. We are delighted by the level of adoption and growth we have recorded over the past year which is a testament to the fact that we are addressing a huge unmet demand in our region,” Amer said.
“Aside from improving efficiency, we are reducing costs and impacting restaurants’ bottom lines – saving them time through operational efficiency and money through improved purchasing power and economies of scale. Joined by prominent global investors with deep knowledge and extensive expertise in our sector, we look forward to our next phase of rapid growth.”
Nclude’s managing partner, Basil Moftah, expressed his company’s admiration for OneOrder’s “amazing success”.
“The product-market fit of the OneOder solution is very impressive, along with the positive impact it is delivering to all stakeholders in the value chain. Through the use of technology and alternative data, OneOrder’s embedded financing will help underserved clients who are unable to secure traditional financing. This aligns perfectly with our investing philosophy and we are glad to be embarking on this journey with the team,” he said.
