Nigerian B2B retail platform raises $10.5m, led by Nosara Capital
Alerzo, a business-to-business technology and services platform focused on Nigeria’s informal retail sector, announced $10.5 million in series A funding. The round was led by Nosara Capital, with participation by Galaxy Digital, the family office of Michael Novogratz, FJ Labs, and several family offices from the US, Europe and Asia.
This brings the company’s total funding to more than $20 million. Alerzo’s early investors include the Baobab Network, an Africa-focused accelerator based in London, and Signal Hill, a Singapore-based fund manager.
Adewale Opaleye started Alerzo in December 2019 with a vision to empower the millions of women who work in Nigeria’s informal retail sector. Adewale’s vision for Alerzo was informed by his childhood, in which he witnessed firsthand the many challenges faced by his own single mother, who struggled to provide for her four children by operating two informal retail stores.
Opaleye’s mother is part of the $100 billion informal retail sector that represents the backbone of consumer commerce in Nigeria. These retailers are beholden to an inefficient distribution system, that results in inconsistent inventory availability, opaque pricing, and limited access to formal financial and banking services.
While studying computer science in China, Opaleye witnessed firsthand how the Chinese platform technology companies combined offline logistics, software and financial services to empower neighborhood retailers. “I came home to Nigeria to build a company that would improve the lives of women like my mother. Our business is focused on creating physical and digital infrastructure that these incredible women can leverage to run their businesses more profitably.”
Alerzo currently serves more than 80,000 informal retail stores across southwest Nigeria, where the company is exclusively focused on serving the country’s tier two to tier four cities. Alerzo’s rapidly growing fleet of 150 vehicles and network of 20 warehouses is powered by the company’s proprietary marketplace and logistics software, providing its customers with same-day delivery.
“We’ve studied informal retail marketplaces globally over the last couple of years and Alerzo really stood out to us due to a strong management team led by a founder with a unique understanding of his customer and an attractive business model with exceptional unit economics. The company is at the beginning of a compelling multi-decade opportunity to streamline and digitise Nigeria’s retail supply chain while delivering on a strong social mission to support small business owners,” said Ian Loizeaux, managing partner of Nosara Capital.
According to Kevin Jung and Harish Venkatesh, the co-founders of Signal Hill, “What sets Alerzo apart is the team’s proven ability to scale complex businesses in Nigeria; the focus on the informal retail sector outside of Lagos; and the company’s orientation towards Asia, which we think serve as the best reference point for this new emerging business model.”
Proceeds from this round will be used to expand geographically to northern Nigeria which will double Alerzo’s service area and launch both AlerzoPay, the company’s cashless payments and lending platform, as well as a portfolio of new business support services.
Alerzo’s board of directors and advisory board is comprised of technology entrepreneurs and executives with operating experience in companies such as Capitec Bank (South Africa), MTN, Facebook, Andela, Flutterwave, KKR, and Galaxy Digital among others. In June, Alerzo opened a second headquarters in Singapore so that its operations in Nigeria can more quickly identify and implement relevant emerging new trends and best practices from peers operating in Southeast Asia and India.
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