B2B e-commerce OmniRetail has raised $20 million in Series A funding to expand its operations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
Norfund and Timon Capital co-led the funding round, including Ventures Platform, Aruwa Capital, Goodwell Investments, and Flour Mills of Nigeria.
The company plans to use the new funding to enhance its embedded finance offerings and scale its logistics network.
Omni Retail is Digitizing West Africa’s Informal Retail Sector
Founded in 2019 by Deepankar Rustagi, OmniRetail offers a platform for digitising order management for manufacturers and distributors. It serves over 150,000 informal retailers across 12 cities.
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Retailers use the platform to order inventory, access working capital, and make digital payments. The startup’s logistics network includes over 1,100 vehicles and 85 local logistics partners. The informal retail sector represents an estimated 90% of African consumer goods transactions.
“The profitability journey was an outcome of our efficiency on utilizing the assets that we aggregated in the network, and this has proven that the model that we put together as a ‘network of networks’ is profitable and is highly scalable, ” Rustagi said to TechCrunch. “That’s the reason we went ahead and raise the capital to finally put the metal on the pedal and scale in more geographies and in more categories. We’re expanding now not just to grow, but to optimize.”
OmniRetail’s profitable growth indicates a shift in Africa’s B2B commerce landscape. After years of aggressive expansion fueled by venture capital, startups are now prioritizing margin optimization and embedded finance.
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The Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform’s strategy of building scale before offering credit contrasts with earlier models that issued loans prematurely. OmniRetail, through its acquisition of Traction Apps, gains critical insights to tailor financial products and reduce defaults by capturing retailer-level sales data.
Expanding Its Presence in West Africa’s B2B E-commerce
This new funding brings OmniRetail’s equity and debt to $38 million. The company intends to use the capital to deepen its presence in existing markets and explore new opportunities in Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. It will also continue growing its retailer base and expand into new product categories like personal care, home care, and cold storage.
Furthermore, the capital will also upgrade OmniRetail’s infrastructure, enhance its credit underwriting tools, and strengthen partnerships with domestic debt providers. According to Archit Bagaria, OmiRetail’s head of investment, some of its next moves include a debt raise for inventory finance and strategic acquisitions.
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For Norfund, the Nigerian-based startup represents more than just a fintech or commerce bet; it’s infrastructure. “Embedded finance is one of the most transformative tools for small business growth in Africa,” said Norfund Investor Director Cathrine Conradi. “OmniRetail’s model brings capital to areas where traditional systems haven’t reached.”
Meanwhile, Timon Capital, which backed OmniRetail from its seed stage, sees this as a watershed moment for the company. “OmniRetail has now hit an inflection point in distribution, payments, and credit, showing just how much profitable growth they can generate with their expanding footprint,” the firm said.
As Africa’s B2B e-commerce landscape continues to evolve, OmniRetail’s growth strategy emphasizes the increasing importance of digital solutions in streamlining supply chains and supporting small retailers.
Main Image: OmniRetail’s Team. Image Credit: OmniRetail
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