PE firm makes further investment in Ethiopian e-commerce company
RENEW's Impact Angel Network (IAN) has funded a third investment in Roadrunner Technology Solutions LLC, a partner of Deliver Addis in Ethiopia. Deliver Addis is the pioneer e-commerce company in Ethiopia, the world’s 12th largest country. Since 2015, Deliver Addis has focused on online food delivery, but in April 2020, in response to increased demand caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, the company expanded services and now includes an online marketplace that enables Ethiopian consumers to shop for groceries and other essential goods online. Since RENEW's initial investment, the company’s daily deliveries have grown 630%.
RENEW is an impact investment firm that manages and serves the IAN, a global network of investors who seek to make both social impact and financial returns on their investments in Africa.
Roadrunner and Deliver Addis’s core competitive advantage is the technology platform they use, designed by founder Feleg Tsegaye. The platform enables Deliver Addis to handle large amounts of orders and coordinate drivers to shorten delivery times. RENEW’s investments financed the enhancement of this platform and an expansion of Deliver Addis’s fleet. Deliver Addis now provides food from over 100 restaurants, groceries, flowers, and other consumer products. The third investment in Roadrunner and Deliver Addis will increase the companies’ capacity, enable them to reduce prices and increase efficiency to expand market share and offer new products and services to the market.
“As both a frequent user of Deliver Addis and owner of Roadrunner, I couldn’t be more excited about this investment,” said Matthew Davis, RENEW’s CEO. “Not only is the need for such services of national importance to control the spread of Covid-19, but it is also keeping hundreds of people employed through Deliver Addis and the small businesses they support. Feleg is a visionary and a skilled technician. We’re excited to back him and drive Deliver Addis into new markets.”
“While it hasn’t been easy to launch and grow an e-commerce platform in Ethiopia, the country is changing every day,” said Feleg Tsegaye. “We’re seeing consumers adopt technology not only as a luxury, but, in these challenging times, it’s becoming a necessity. We’re pleased to play our role in helping prevent the spread of Covid-19 and to help so many restaurants, local vendors and supermarkets keep their lights on by providing them with an online market. We appreciate all of the support we have received from the community and our stakeholders, and we look forward to continuing to serve them.”
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