Egypt's food delivery app elmenus has raised $10 million in a funding round by US and local investors, including New York-based hedge fund Luxor Capital that previously backed global food platforms Zomato, Delivery Hero and Glovo.
The pre-Series C funding round also included investments from Cairo-listed digital payments platform Fawry Group and Egyptian property developer Marakez, elmenus said on Tuesday. Luxor Capital’s investment in elmenus is its first in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Cairo-based start-up will use the funds to expand across Egypt, invest in customising the app's user experience and develop data analysis tools to help its restaurant partners build their businesses through better understanding of customer preferences, Amir Allam, chief executive of elmenus, told The National.
"We are expanding to a lot of new cities within Egypt in our plans to be biggest dominant local player," Mr Allam said. "We are investing in tools and data enablement for restaurants ... to understand their own data, which customers they can attract, the best-performing dishes and how they can improve."
Elmenus also plans to enter other countries in Africa in 2022, because of their geographical proximity, similar demographics and "huge opportunities" in under-served markets, he said. The start-up will also open an office in Dubai to hire talent in the data science and products segments and to provide work flexibility for its employees.
To drive expansion, elmenus is also "hiring aggressively" to grow its workforce of 350 employees, Mr Allam said, declining to provide the number of new hires.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a push by restaurants to manage their businesses more efficiently, with data tools offering them an opportunity to improve their performance, reach users through a targeted approach and scale up their marketing in the online food ordering segment, he said. Elmenus plans to increase the 12,000 restaurants registered on the app now.
Elmenus, which claims to have more than 1.5 million monthly users, recorded a sharp increase in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic as safety precautions and movement restrictions prompted more people to dine at home and hastened a consumer shift towards online orders.
In February, the start-up secured an undisclosed investment from David Buttress, former chief executive of Just Eat, who is now also on the company's board.
The pre-Series C funding round is still ongoing and elmenus expects it to close "within the coming months", Mr Allam said.
More international investors than regional are joining the funding round and it is too early to reveal the total value of investments, he said.
The Fawry Group, which contributed $1m out of the $10m raised so far, will work with elmenus on digital payment services to serve more restaurants and customers via the app.
"One of the biggest opportunities in Egypt is that there is a lot of unbanked business, including restaurants, and from the consumer side there is a lot of digital enablement to be done," Mr Allam said.
The Fawry partnership enables the company to fill such gaps, helping both restaurants and consumers, he said.
The coronavirus crisis has honed the focus of restaurants on online revenue streams and on streamlining the cash collection process from aggregators such as elmenus, with digital payments easing that process.
Given the importance of cashflow to restaurants, elmenus made changes to its commissions payment process to pay restaurants their fees more frequently during the Covid crisis than the monthly payment cycle previously, Mr Allam said.
The start-up will focus on serving restaurants and diners with more options rather than grow into other online delivery segments such as groceries or pharmacies, he said. "The opportunity is huge here and Egypt is a massive market that is under-penetrated."
With order volumes growing two to three times year-on-year, elmenus recorded gross profit in June and earning net profit is "not too far out", the executive said. He added that elmenus could go public "at a later stage".
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20electric%20motors%20with%20102kW%20battery%20pack%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E570hp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20890Nm%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%20428km%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C700%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
The biog:
Favourite book: The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma
Pet Peeve: Racism
Proudest moment: Graduating from Sorbonne
What puts her off: Dishonesty in all its forms
Happiest period in her life: The beginning of her 30s
Favourite movie: "I have two. The Pursuit of Happiness and Homeless to Harvard"
Role model: Everyone. A child can be my role model
Slogan: The queen of peace, love and positive energy
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
