Many FMCG brands depend on a mix of outsourced and owned assets to deliver their goods. With the variety of these models, FMCGs can experience a fragmented logistics process that can lead to significant loss in value.
ILLA, an Egyptian startup, provides full-stack delivery services to small and large businesses in the FMCG industry. Today, it announced the closing of a $2 Million funding round in order to scale across Egypt.
After working in the FMCG sector for more than 15 years, including at Clorox, Coca-Cola and Clorox, I was able to see the fragmentation in logistics operations for major FMCG brands. This led me to seek out a better solution, according Mahmoud El-Zomor who founded the startup in 2019.
El-Zomor realized the need for this service and teamed up to create ILLA with his co-founders Alaajarkas, Ahmed Sakr, and Hossam Sarahya, who all have some industry experience.
ILLA services can be used by distributors, food and drink chains, hotels, hypermarkets and manufacturers as well as other stakeholders in the FMCG sector.
The company uses a single platform and has a central operations team to handle middle-mile logistics for FMCGs. As the company provides complete visibility into operations, it reduces friction between brands and logistics suppliers.
The startup from Egypt has closed more than 250,000 transactions for over 65 clients since its inception. These clients include Coca-Cola and P&G as well as Nestl, Juhayna and Nestl.
Mohamed Emera, ILLA's director of growth, said that the company is focusing on the FMCG logistics sector. This speaks to the companys determination to disrupt the Egyptian market. Global fragmentation of supply chains is a $1 trillion market.
The director said that our industry focus gives us the ability to dig deeply into the problem and find solutions within. This, along with the unique delivery model that FMCG offers, allows us to innovate in a way that other companies cannot.
The company is working hard to find solutions within itself, but it also plans on using this investment to drive growth in Egypt. The CEO also stated that ILLA aims to disrupt traditional routes to market for FMCG companies as well as SMEs, while also building on its tech platform to provide more value to clients and drivers.
Watheeq Financial Services, Golden Palm Investments were the investors that led the round. Loftyinc Capital Management and Kepple Africa Fond participated as well as Oqal Angel Network, Cubit Ventures and Flat6Labs Cairo. This was the third time that the accelerators have invested in the company.
Khaled Zaidan, Watheeq Financial Service, stated that the global supply chain management sector is now ready for modernization. ILLA is unique in its position as an end-to–end execution platform.
The middle-mile logistics segment of the global supply chain market is one of the least invested. ILLA identified this huge opportunity in MENA, and offers a full-stack B2B Supply Chain Management Platform that allows FMCG brands to directly reach retailers at the lowest price per case. Mahmoud and his team use the shared economy of trucking and technology automation to innovate in a fast-growing market.
