Egyptian F&B group elmenus secures key Mideast, US funding
CAIRO, July 15, 2021
Egypt’s biggest food discovery and ordering platform elmenus said it has secured new funding from three new investors, based in the Mena region and North America.
Fawry Group - the renowned digital transformation and e-payment platform – is leading the investment from Egypt following its new strategy to take minority stakes in fast-growing Egyptian technology businesses. It is being joined by another Egyptian group Marakez - a leading real estate developer, in the project, said a statement from the company.
The investment from North America has been received from New York-based hedge fund Luxor Capital Group.
As well as investing, Fawry will work closely with elmenus to develop innovative solutions to benefit restaurants and consumers, it stated.
On the key investment, CEO Ashraf Sabry said: “Fawry is looking forward to its journey with elmenus, working closely with the executive team and entering many ventures together. By this investment, we show our desire to not only be a payment catalyst but to be a strategic partner to elmenus, its customers, restaurants and their riders."
"The Egyptian food space has high growth potential, with technology disrupting the status quo, as customers’ needs in food service provision rapidly change," he added.
elmenus - which now has over 1.5 million monthly users - is a comprehensive platform for restaurant information and food discovery in Egypt, and its aim is to personalise food recommendations at a dish level.
By the end of 2021, elmenus expects to empower 12,000 restaurants with new data and tool offerings to help them scale their businesses, across 20 Egyptian cities, said a top official.
Investment has also been received from New York-based hedge fund, Luxor Capital Group, which has $11 billion of assets under management. elmenus is its first investment in the Mena region, remarked its CEO Amir Allam.
“Attracting new investment from Fawry, Luxor Capital and Marakez - following the endorsement of industry veteran, David Buttress (the former CEO of global food ordering firm, JustEat, who was appointed to the board earlier this year) - validates elmenus’ unique strategy.
"We are accelerating the adoption of online ordering by users, while enabling restaurants with new verticals - to help them scale. This funding demonstrates the investors’ strong belief in our position in Egypt, and our capability to dominate the market,” Allam added.-TradeArabia News Service
