Ethiopian e-commerce platform attracts investors despite domestic and global challenges
Despite the global Covid-19 pandemic and domestic challenges in Ethiopia, Roadrunner Technology Solutions LLC, a partner of Deliver Addis, continues to see rising demand for its services and is pulling ahead to become one of Ethiopia’s largest and fastest-growing e-commerce platforms.
This strong growth has helped the company land a follow-on investment from private equity firm RENEW’s Impact Angel Network (IAN) as well as interest from a number of venture and equity investors eyeing the tech sector in Ethiopia as an up-and-coming opportunity in Africa.
Deliver Addis is a pioneer in the e-commerce space and has been delivering since 2015. Over the past three years, the company has expanded significantly, delivering food to tens of thousands of consumers from 140+ restaurants and, through its online marketplace, is now selling groceries, flowers and other consumer goods.
Since receiving an initial investment from the IAN in 2017, the company has expanded its online offerings and delivery capabilities. Since April, the company has been growing at an impressive rate and has been able to acquire new customers throughout the pandemic, which has caused a major cultural shift with consumers ordering food rather than eating in a restaurant.
“E-commerce and companies like Deliver Addis are seeing a rise in demand around the world due to Covid-19,” noted RENEW’s CEO, Matthew Davis, recently. “But, even without this, the company is growing as Ethiopian consumers are coming online and the world’s 12th largest populated country begins to privatise key sectors of their telecom and banking sector. Because of this, Deliver Addis and Roadrunner are well-positioned to capture a market we believe will continue to experience considerable growth in the coming years.”
“The future looks bright for Deliver Addis as we continue to focus on customer acquisition and provide high-quality services to our customers in Ethiopia,” said founder and CEO of Deliver Addis, Feleg Tsegaye, recently. “We’re grateful for the Impact Angel Network’s continued commitment to our vision and growth as we continue to grow the leadership team and create additional employment opportunities for youth and vulnerable groups.”
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