Egypt: Dark store Appetito raises $2m from Jedar Capital, others

The Egypt-based e-commerce startup and dark store Appetito has successfully raised $2 million in its latest funding round. The pre-series A round was led by Jedar Capital, a US-based early-stage VC, with additional participation from Golden Palm investments, DFS Lab, and a group of prominent angel investors and family offices.

Founded in March 2020, Appetito operates through a dark stores model, where products are sourced from manufacturers, stored in mini fulfillment centres then delivered to household customers. The startup started with a wide range of private label products serving all areas of Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria with next day and pre-scheduled deliveries.

Appetito expanded its product portfolio to include more than 1,000 SKUs from well-known consumer brands and entered the hyper convenience race by offering its customers less than 60-minute delivery in selected areas. The Egypt-based team currently operates seven dark stores in Cairo and plans to expand to 150 stores by 2024, which is now plausible with the availability of scaling capital. Commenting on the potential of this venture, founder and CEO, Shehab Mokhtar said, “The grocery retail market size in Egypt is valued at $60 billion. The fact that 2% of it is currently online, creates a massive opportunity for growth betting on the younger generations as 50% of the Egyptian population are below the age of 25 years.”

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