Egyptian B2B Ecommerce Startup MaxAB Acquires Morocco’s WaystoCap

Announcing that it has closed a Series A investment round in which it raised $15 million from existing investors, Egypt’s largest business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform, MaxAB, has acquired WaystoCap, the Morocco-based B2B e-commerce and distribution platform bridging suppliers and retailers across the African continent.

The closure of the round sees its total capital accumulate to over $60 million, while the acquisition marks MaxAB’s acceleration into the Maghrebi market.

MaxAB, which works in service of a network of traditional food and grocery retailers, has witnessed dramatic growth since its 2018 launch, with its tech-based supply chain seeking to transform the sector by offering retailers a simplified process in which they can trade with one supplier with transparent pricing, on-demand delivery, and benefit from various value-added services.

Its end-to-end supply chain solutions and business intelligence tools will also benefit from WaystoCap’s regional and local expertise. The Casablanca-based company was founded in 2017, and after becoming the first Moroccan startup to join the Y Combinator it has evolved into one of the country’s leading B2B platforms, boasting a network of over 8,000 retailers and a presence in cities across West Africa.

Belal El-Megharbel, Co-Founder and CEO at MaxAB, described the acquisition as a formation of a “super-team” which will combine “a powerhouse of talent, technological know-how, on the ground infrastructure, boosted supply chains and WaystoCap’s phenomenal experience of the region.”

He praised the “common vision” between the two companies, which he identified as “re-engineer[ing] the traditional food and grocery market to better serve traditional retailers.”

The strategic acquisition gives MaxAB access to a new territory and will now see it serve 70,000 retailers, propelling its ambition of becoming the leading B2B retail and grocery platform in the Middle East and Africa.