Nigerian startup Vendease, a digital platform that allows restaurants in Africa to buy supplies, access financial services and power their business operations, has raised US$30 million in an equity and debt funding round to consolidate its growth in Nigeria and Ghana, and to support its expansion across the continent.
Founded in January 2020 by Tunde Kara, Olumide Fayankin, Gatumi Aliyu and Wale Oyepeju, Vendease helps to solve food supply chain problems by digitising procurement processes, storage operations and logistics, and offering flexible payment systems to help food businesses grow.
The startup, which was part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 cohort and banked a US$3.2 million seed round last year, has announced it has taken on US$20 million in Series A equity funding, plus US$10 million in debt. The equity round was co-led by TLcom Capital and Partech, and also included VentureSouq, Hustle Fund, Hack VC, GFR Fund, Kube VC, Magic Fund and Kairos Angels. The US$10 million debt round was raised from the local finance market.
The funding will be used to consolidate Vendease’s position in Nigeria and Ghana, as well as move into new markets. Over the last 12 months, the platform has moved more than 400,000 metric tonnes of food, helping its users save more than US$2 million in procurement costs and more than 10,000 procurement man-hours. Its data has also helped them reduce wastage from overstocking by an additional US$485,000. The company has seen 3x growth in the number of users on its platform and 5x growth in revenue over the last 12 months.
“Our mission is to enable the efficient flow of food across the continent, from point of production to point of consumption. It is more than just placing orders for supplies, we want to transform how the entire sector works and remove the bottlenecks that stunt the growth of restaurants and food businesses. With greater efficiency in the supply chain, we believe we can unlock more growth opportunities across board, which is why we are excited to have raised this round, led by two of Africa’s biggest VCs, who understand what it takes to power such an ambitious mission,” said Kara.
Following their investments, TLcom partner Andreata Muforo and Partech general partner Cyril Collon will join Vendease’s board of directors.
“Restaurants and food businesses play a vital role in communities across the continent and Vendease is on a mission to bring affordability, convenience, and reliability to these businesses, and builds a platform that allows the wider food sector to optimise their operations. We look forward to working alongside the team as they pursue the next phase of growth and unlock significant value in Africa’s fragmented food supply chain,” Muforo said.
