In order to expand into the GCC, starting with the UAE, OneOrder, the tech supply chain and logistics solution that has revolutionized the hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) industries in Egypt, has announced that it has raised $16 million in equity and debt in a Series A round. Delivery Hero Ventures, a previous investor, is leading the round. Norrsken22, Egypt-based Nclude, and A15 are also participating. This comes after two seed rounds, worth $1 million in February 2022 and $3 million in December 2022, respectively.
On the problem that OneOrder is tackling, Tamer Amer, CEO at OneOrder, said, “Like many supply chains across Africa and the MENA region, HoReCa is extremely fragmented and relies on manual processes involving multiple stakeholders. This results in businesses having limited price-transparency, a lack of access to quality stock-keeping units (SKUs), high waste and storage costs, and limited financing to grow their businesses.”
Amer continues, “Currently, restaurants and hotels must work with hundreds of suppliers to maintain stock, receiving 10 to 20 deliveries each day, which disrupts operations without eliminating shortages. Previous attempts to solve the problem have simply digitised the issue, which any ERP can do. Instead, OneOrder takes a comprehensive approach to streamlining the entire supply chain, acting as a one-stop-shop by storing all the ingredients that restaurants might need in our strategically located warehouses.”
One Order provides extensive analytics and data to manage its operations, a personalized virtual warehouse for online ordering and delivery of over 700 SKUs, and access to embedded financing to spur growth through its web-based platform and mobile application. Customers’ access to more SKUs with guaranteed quality at lower prices, data and analytics for better operations, and funding for expansion are all being made possible by OneOrder, which is revolutionizing the food procurement process. They serve more than 1370 clients at the moment.
Not only does the technology address supply chain issues, but it also integrates with ERP/POS systems and simplifies related financing and payments. Currently, only banks and financial institutions in Egypt are able to enable variable payments by direct debit; OneOrder has collaborated with the Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB) to make this possible.
“At OneOrder, we are steadfast in our belief that technology and human creativity form the bedrock of our success. Our philosophy focuses on empowering our customers with technology to automate mundane tasks, thereby enabling them to concentrate on areas that require human judgement,” Amer said, adding: “This approach has allowed us to operate with a significantly leaner team than traditional suppliers, demonstrating the effectiveness of our tech-enhanced strategies. We look forward to our expansion into the GCC region.”
Brendon Blacker, Managing Partner at Delivery Hero Ventures, says, “We are honoured to lead OneOrder’s Series A round and grow our investment as the company revolutionises the HORECA supply chain in the MENA region. This funding creates an exciting opportunity to expand the huge value that OneOrder enables for its customers across a wider geographic footprint and replicate the great success they have already achieved in Egypt.”
