How OmniRetail cracked African e-commerce

Today: We’ve got ₦1 million up for grabs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 September 06, 2024 | [Read Online]( In partnership with [moniepoint logo] [Lire en Français]( [اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية]( TGIF ☀️ We’ve got ₦1 million up for grabs. We’ve partnered with Zedcrest Wealth to host the first edition of the Money Titan Tournament at Moonshot 2024. Test your financial literacy by competing in five exciting stages, from Beginner to the Grand Finale, with rewards at every level. If you're ready to become the Money Titan 2024 and win the cash prize, sign up on the Zedcrest app and join the waitlist. [Sign up now](. [today's edition image] - [How did OmniRetail crack B2B e-commerce in Africa?](#Story1) - [Flutterwave names Mitesh Popat as new CFO](#Story2) - [Funding Tracker](#Story3) - [The World Wide Web3](#Story5) - [Opportunities](#Story6) Companies How did OmniRetail crack B2B e-commerce in Africa? [Deepanker Rustagi]Image Source: Ganiu Oloruntade/TechCabal. African B2B e-commerce businesses [raised a combined $423 million]( between 2021 and 2022 because their value proposition worked: they helped informal retailers stock up inventory faster by connecting them to wholesalers. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) needed to be sold off quickly due to their short shelf life and to accommodate the high demand for these products. But the delivery delay from distributors made this a lingering problem. Retailers were losing money and business was shrinking. B2B e-commerce companies formed partnerships with manufacturers, often deploying their logistics fleet and inadvertently displacing distributors. Soon, this situation kept everyone in a bind: retailers wanted better rates, and the companies had to compete with distributors. These businesses were seeing some red as low margins and unit-level losses became challenges for the business. Yet [OmniRetail](, a B2B e-commerce company founded by [Deepanker Rustagi]( in 2019 claims it has cracked the code to profitability. OmniRetail does not attempt to replace the middlemen. It offers three products: Omnibiz for retailers, Mplify for distributors, and an embedded finance app, Omnipay for facilitating payments. Retailers place orders on Omnibiz, and the company, using their bulk orders as a bargaining chip, gets favourable discount offers that they pass to the retailers. As soon as these orders tick off, distributors pick it up on Mplify and deliver last-mile to retailers. “The value chain margin in commerce has various layers, including distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. If you can play a role in these different layers of efficiency, you can get a large amount,” said Rustagi. For a company that claims to have achieved net profitability, OmniRetail’s asset-light approach allows it to achieve even greater economies of scale. [Go deeper in our OmniRetail coverage here](. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUtIVhnYayFPJHXYlxEvm2mYPVkGdz_E8PxpjTR858dm1b2A_And39i3QieyDMoDf9sBnLCRywVOiQ5_z7InTm-g4a1I5xgyBtBWDQsQwqO4mvUOIFWFUiyw1O9Sn4h8i4WDlbCvXpqC2nAmptr2aFIiPnTpE6NWOej9-B6Mq-ONPDmAx0WsqV_6I0Ke7ua5CKy4DiNTXIH-3zUshX13320peJg0VotHYBSbPtQ4pr-Jx2GDVjW5Qhcw2iIr191988noTeUFyD8PhWSu0vRNVox_nScfIQENqH_BqpfQbx4PoFVoV3ttvxx4nl9_Fx4x5m4KiGvqn74n8Zxk0eBGSdqw/49j/ElmBcaA_TVa0whuaALXcng/h9/h001.QVvqxdE2IDOju3oDESv5Ae8alg00X-AN-uXG9szCCC8 Read Moniepoint’s 2024 Informal Economy Report [Moniepoint image]( Did you know that 57.7% of the business owners in Nigeria's informal economy are under 34 years old? [Click here]( to find out more about the demographics of Nigeria’s informal economy. Companies Flutterwave names Mitesh Popat as new CFO [The Zimbabwe Gold]Image source: Flutterwave Flutterwave has [appointed Mitesh Popat]( as its new chief financial officer (CFO), replacing former CFO Oneal Bhambani who [left the company]( in November 2023. Before joining Flutterwave, Popat spent 18 years at Citi where he served as CFO for the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Popat revels in executing financial business growth strategies. His work navigating financial compliance at Citi in the MEA region is an addition Flutterwave will be keen on having on their team, given their expansion goals. In 2024, the fintech company expanded its payments infrastructure to Southern and Eastern African markets, with its [latest licence acquisition]( in Uganda. Equally, the company is actively cutting off cash-burning products and aggressively pursuing new growth markets. It has shut down its struggling money transfer product, Barter, opting instead to stick with its remittance product, Send. It also shifted its focus to enterprise payments and [laid off]( 3% of its staff who were working on products the company deemed surplus to requirements. Flutterwave is looking to connect more African markets to its ecosystem. And Popat’s new job will see him ask questions daily about how the company will capture more money while losing less—to boost retail investors’ confidence—as it continues to front-pedal its plan to go public. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUfkmq8G59RuO0kN6xBs8-IaKGJK5znOlgjCNXFRlS2dTxS788qFH-lskNbQrjxR3eAeoMqXmhqQpU1YIpT4R4d7TH8QP7Hbn1RH4h4ZaP87HUgQ54BbjfEv9JM5YVUNIKHTWTk43_atN41BaDwuwGbTOlzDfhdeI6uI6Dvsk3d1PmaTlFJrGPI5znUUUcVKYOLZEgdcdmE0vf0_1rczBGy7T97DgfnBN6c0ZVh4cSMe1tTspfItSTyRqDJayX75hQSa7RenJUCSCcwGQ1XQvNy0g7TMJpG0MT2Jo3qtlTVM8/49j/ElmBcaA_TVa0whuaALXcng/h18/h001.oOwwoAhKvIhbylbX0uVjgQ1LGcgdLq_w1hf2iHYucSo Fincra secures International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licence in Nigeria [Fincra image]( Since its inception, Fincra has provided businesses with local payment options. However, with the IMTO licence, Fincra can now manage funds transfers from abroad to Nigerian recipients more efficiently. [Read more here](. Insights Funding Tracker [Funding Tracker]Image source: Stephen Agwaibor/TechCabal This week, Nigeria’s Kredete, a financial software platform, [secured $2.25 million]( in seed funding. The funding round was led by Blockchain Founders Fund, with participation from Techstars, Tezos Foundation, Polymorphic Capital, Launch Africa, Neer Venture Partners, and DNA Fund. (September 2) Here are other deals for the week: - Chpter, a Kenyan e-commerce startup, [raised $1.2 million]( in a pre-seed round. Pani led the funding round with participation from Plesion Capital, Techstars, Norrsken, Renew Capital, Viktoria Ventures, and angel investors. (September 2) - Tunisian IoT-based smart energy management solution startup Wattnow [announced]( the closing of an undisclosed multi-million dollar funding round. The round was led by Lateral Frontiers and 216 Capital, with participation from Outlierz Ventures, Satgana, Octerra Capital, and other strategic angel investors. (September 4) Follow us on [Twitter](, [Instagram](, and [LinkedIn]( for more funding announcements. Before you go, our State of Tech in Africa H1 2024 Report is out. Click this [link to download it](. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUV5aIcRxgvUequLcLeb96YbLJO6KltsTOYU9m09JtZkd_OG7zUYMXhuyUaGWPXwCG-57mPHGsiloEa7h-0y9ycmUc6qXPItZWOOEkoQ7ZqkzDX_CspjYFdxfaPb8flCc51TNElmI_-dBZyuQo2_uzAny4yy0zQG0LL-j_Mctg9fneNIGnsxmgMrMuH2I-Z-CIBv4COSX0qdQ08SnjCd6EZ3RXcevu7bVDrqpK3wMGDv2w1cKFsYT-9V1inbNR-Xw721AbMx7SLgpqXGXTDd51E4B-jccdprdhGmaw0afP_5fS-TutWTTOn-RqVy3EwtEl/49j/ElmBcaA_TVa0whuaALXcng/h30/h001.DK6rbNPSaL__tTcrvTmX2MPzQ-hT9yLsTCoYZQpFF_U Paystack Virtual Terminal is now live in more countries [Paystack image]( Paystack Virtual Terminalhelps businesses accept secure, in-person payments with real-time WhatsApp confirmations and ZERO hardware costs. Enjoy multiple in-person payment channels, easy end-of-day reconciliation, and more. [Learn more on the Paystack blog →]( CRYPTO TRACKER The World Wide Web3 Source: [OneLiquidity logo] Coin Name Current Value Day Month Bitcoin $56,408 - 1.32% - 1.30% Ether $2,380 - 1.28% - 5.85% Toncoin $4.86 + 6.20% - 15.75% Solana $129.44 - 2.88% - 15.75% * Data as of 06:40 AM WAT, September 6, 2024. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUV5aIcRxgvUequLcLeb96YbLJO6KltsTOYU9m09JtZkd_OG7zUYMXhuyUaGWPXwCG-57mPHGsiloEa7h-0y9ycmUc6qXPItZWOOEkoQ7ZqkzDX_CspjYFdxfaPb8flCc51TNElmI_-dBZyuQo2_uzAny4yy0zQG0LL-j_Mctg9fneNIGnsxmgMrMuH2I-Z-CIBv4COSX0qdQ08SnjCd6EZ3RXcevu7bVDrqpK3wMGDv2w1cKFsYT-9V1inbNR-Xw7FxsEwSXJPJd1nNHKftkij-afOI05RrDF_yEFKGM5jHBB3pV5zGI6sqmTqzzhDVuv/49j/ElmBcaA_TVa0whuaALXcng/h35/h001.LGrX24z1QkVKOlJ7qix74j-VcEjFxnNyHSDPhEwDPpM Events - Inside the big stories transforming the Arabian Peninsula and the world. Introducing [Semafor Gulf]( – your go-to source for understanding the rising influence of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Three times a week, the Semafor Gulf newsroom will bring you original reporting that examines how the region's financial, business, and geopolitical decisions shape the world, from culture and investment to infrastructure, climate, and technology. Navigate the region's capital, influence, and power with Semafor Gulf – [subscribe for free here](. - We’re excited to announce our partnership with Wimbart the second edition of their pioneering pan-African research publication, “[Startup Performance Reporting in Africa](”. This report will shed light on the intricacies of investor relations within the African tech ecosystem. 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