Egypt-based online food ordering platform elmenus announced today it has raised an $8 million Series B round (via wamda). The round was led by UAE-based VC fund Global Ventures and Egyptian fund Algebra Ventures, with participation from angel investors.
The startup raised a $1.5 million Series A from Algebra Ventures in 2017, as well as undisclosed pre-Series B investment mid-2019 from Julian Dames, the VP of DeliveryHero.
Founded in 2011, elmenus‘ online ordering platform lets users browse from local restaurants for delivery or just to discover where to dine out. The startup also states on its website that it provides personalized food recommendations, but how exactly it does that is unclear. I poked around their platform for a bit and it looked pretty similar to other food delivery sites I’ve used — listing restaurant options based on location with dish photos and diner reviews.
Even if it doesn’t have a unique personalization aspect, elmenus still stands out in the world of food delivery simply because of its location. Egypt actually hosts quite a few delivery players, including international giants like Uber Eats, Glovo and Delivery Hero-owned Otlob. Elemenus is one of the few companies that started locally and focuses exclusively on the Egyptian market (for now).
So far the startup operates exclusively in Egypt and has its own delivery fleet. According to wamda, elmenus will use its new funds to scale across the country.
Eight million dollars ain’t nothing, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what its competitors are working with. Glovo alone raised $167 million last year. Even in an area with so much untapped market potential (only 4 percent of Egyptians order to-go food online), it might be hard for elemenus to survive.
That is, unless it can find a way to stand out. Beefing up its personalization offering could be one way to do so. If elmenus is smart, that’s how it’ll use that fresh $8 million.
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