Nigeria’s Vendease grabs $30M For Its 12-Hour Delivery Model

Nigerian start-up Vendease has raised $30 million in an equity and debt funding round. The Series A equity round of $20 million was co-led by TLcom and Partech, in a rare joint investment by two of the biggest Africa-focused funds.

-KH News Desk

Africa’s restaurants and food businesses feed 700 million people across the continent daily. However, these businesses lose $100 billion annually due to expensive and unreliable supply, limited access to data to inform procurement decisions, wastage, and theft, as well as limited access to capital to fund procurement.

Vendease was founded in 2020 by Tunde Kara, Olumide Fayankin, Gatumi Aliyu and Wale Oyepeju in Nigeria. Vendease’s digital procurement engine makes it easier for restaurants in 8 cities across Nigeria and Ghana to buy food supplies at considerably cheaper rates than open market prices, with guaranteed 12-hour delivery. This investment round follows the $4.4 million investment secured by digital procurement platform Remedial Health to deliver medicines in 24 hours across Nigeria.

The investment will be used by Vendease to consolidate its growth and operations in Nigeria and Ghana, and to support its expansion across the continent. It will also be used for the development of new solutions and services to drive growth across the food value chain.

Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom, said, “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.”

In addition to its 12-hour delivery service, Vendease is building the operating system that automates the flow of food from farm to restaurant, optimises business operations across the value chain through accurate data deployment, reduces wastage and drives profitability.

Vendease partners with medium- to large-scale farmers, as well as groups of small-scale farmers that grow scarce or speciality produce, to ensure a consistent supply of goods for its online catalogue. It offers transparent pricing and timely payments for Nigerian farmers.