Egyptian logistics and technology start-up OneOrder has raised $1 million to expand into new markets and improve its technology platform.
The funding round was led by Egypt-based early-stage venture capital firm A15.
Founded in October 2021, OneOrder aims to address inefficiencies and structural problems faced by restaurants when sourcing supplies, such as inconsistent prices, unreliable quality and irregular delivery timings.
The company's platform allows restaurant owners in Egypt to interact with a number of small, fragmented suppliers and vendors from whom they source their products, including meat, vegetables and equipment.
“I know what restaurant owners need … it is a reliable, timely supply of quality goods, at a consistent price — without the stress of managing various suppliers on a daily basis,” said Tamer Amer, founder and chief executive of OneOrder.
“Restaurants should focus on delivering a high-quality experience and service to their customers without having to worry about sourcing and procurement. We are the platform to deliver that."
Egypt has 45,000 registered restaurants and nearly 250,000 unregistered ones, OneOrder, which is based in Cairo, said.
The US Department of Agriculture estimated the overall food and beverage market in Egypt was worth $13 billion in 2019. That figure is expected to have increased “substantially” since then, according to OneOrder.
Revenue in the Egyptian food market is expected to exceed $173.8bn this year, according to Statista, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 6.2 per cent over the next four years.
“I am very excited about the future as our market opportunity is huge. Egypt and the wider region are booming economically, and the food and beverage sector is only growing larger,” said Mr Amer, who is also the founder of Egyptian restaurant chains Fuego Sushi and Longhorn Texas BBQ.
Restaurants in other countries across the Middle East and North Africa also face similar supply chain inefficiencies and OneOrder “aspires to, over time, expand its proposition geographically across the region”, the company said.
“By leveraging [Mr] Tamer’s extensive experience as a successful restaurateur and A15’s history of building scalable technology platforms, we will aim to provide restaurants in the region with reliable, convenient and timely supplies that are consistently priced,” said Karim Beshara, general partner at A15.
