Egypt’s MaxAB acquires Morocco’s WaystoCap to expand across Maghreb region

MaxAB, the largest Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform that serves food and grocery retailers, has acquired WaystoCap, the Morocco-based B2B e-commerce and distribution platform that connects retailers with suppliers across Africa. The acquisition will see MaxAB accelerate its expansion into the Maghreb market, empowered by WaystoCap’s expertise in the region. Additionally, MaxAB has confirmed an additional $15m investment from existing investors, as it closes its Series A, which brings the total capital raised by the ecommerce leader to more than $60M.

WaystoCap was founded in 2017 to connect retailers with suppliers and was the first Moroccan startup to join Y Combinator. Since then, it has become one of the largest and leading B2B platforms in Morocco, with a network of 8,000 retailers and established a presence in West African cities.

Launched in 2018, MaxAB serves a network of traditional retailers across Egypt. The company’s technology-based transformative supply chain model allows it to offer retailers the simplicity of dealing with one supplier, transparent pricing, on-demand delivery, and a range of value-added services. The retailers and suppliers served by both companies will now benefit from MaxAB’s technology, expanded end-to-end supply chain solutions and business intelligence tools as well as WaystoCap’s knowledge and expertise. MaxAB’s acquisition will now see more than 70,000 retailers supplied with essential food and groceries across multiple markets.

Commenting on MaxAB’s expansion and the synergies with WaystoCap, Belal El-Megharbel, Co-Founder and CEO at MaxAB, says: “We are about to take the food and grocery industry to another level in North Africa. The creation of this new super-team, combining a powerhouse of talent, technological know-how, on the ground infrastructure, boosted supply chains and WaystoCap’s phenomenal experience of the region is very exciting. We have a long-standing and excellent working relationship with WaystoCap and share a common vision to re-engineer the traditional food and grocery market to better serve traditional retailers.”

Niama El Bassunie, CEO & Founder of WaystoCap added: “Morocco is an exciting and fast-growing market and with the tremendous increase in government and investor support, the tech ecosystem in Africa and the Middle East is enabling entrepreneurs to build and create novel solutions for some of the key day to day challenges faced in the region. We are thrilled to play a pivotal role in the new all-star team being created and led by experienced, innovative entrepreneurs to establish a regional market leader in food and grocery supply. We are looking forward to continuing our close working relationship with our new team and taking the business to its next phase.” 

The Maghreb market is new territory for MaxAB and this new strategic acquisition will position the expanded team to be North Africa’s leading B2B ecommerce platform for retailers and suppliers. Morocco’s growing tech hub offers huge potential and the acquisition of WaystoCap empowers MaxAB to become a truly global team with a targeted local approach, setting the company on track to be the leading B2B retail and grocery platform in the Middle East and Africa.