Tunisia’s Lamma acquired by Egypt’s Appetito to expand in Maghreb, West Africa
Appetito, an Egyptian grocery delivery firm, has purchased Lamma, a Tunisian rapid commerce platform, in order to grow into Morocco, Tunisia, and West Africa.
Appetito is a grocery delivery company founded in March 2020 by Shehab Mokhtar that sources items from producers, keeps them in warehouses, and sends them to clients via tiny fulfilment centres. Late last year, the business received a $2 million pre-seed fundraising round.
Appetito now operates in three Egyptian cities and is expanding into Tunisia and Morocco, while Lamma uses a mix of dark storefronts and its partner network to deliver groceries, food, personal care, electronics, and fashion products to consumers in less than 45 minutes. Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi, who will now join Appetito as chief expansion and growth officer, founded the company.
The founders of both firms have agreed to merge into a single company known as Appetito, with the merger scheduled to close by the end of Q3 2022.
“I’m delighted to welcome unparalleled talent and like-minded entrepreneurs to our family. We believe it’s the best time to expand in Africa to solve the huge inefficiencies in the retail supply chain,” said Appetito CEO Mokhtar. “Having Lamma on board will put us on track to become the largest q-commerce player in the continent, transforming the lives of millions of people and creating thousands of direct & indirect jobs.”
Lamma and Appetito, according to El Idrissi, were a wonderful fit.
“We share a common vision, business and operating models. But above all, we share similar values. As entrepreneurs, joining forces to create the regional champion makes perfect sense. From our three countries, we now have a fantastic platform to expand into new African markets,” he said.
