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.
The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Mobile phone packages comparison
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Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
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Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
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Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
