The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has contributed $10 million to the Series B2 funding round of Breadfast, an Egyptian grocery delivery startup valued at nearly $400 million.
Novastar Ventures led the round to expand operations throughout Egypt, including expanding fulfilment centres in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, and Mansoura and entering new cities.
The EBRD’s investment comes after encouraging news from current investor VNV Global, which recently valued its 7.9 per cent stake in Breadfast at $30.2 million, nearly doubling its $16.9 million initial investment from 2021.
The results contrast with VNV’s other African investments, Wasoko and SWVL, which have experienced difficulties with valuation and the market.
About Breadfast
Mostafa Amin, Abdullah Nofal, and Muhammad Habib founded Breadfast 2017 as a bakery delivery service. Since then, it has grown into a quick-commerce platform that delivers more than 6,000 items in less than an hour.
In Egypt’s challenging market conditions, its vertically integrated business model, which includes sourcing, baking, fulfilment, and last-mile delivery, has been essential to preserving service dependability.
Currently, the company serves over 300,000 active users, runs over 30 fulfilment centres, and processes almost one million monthly orders. With a customer retention rate of over 80 per cent, it generated over $150 million in recurring revenue annually in 2024.
A noteworthy accomplishment in the face of Egypt’s inflation and currency volatility, VNV Global also emphasised Breadfast’s dollar-based GMV retention of over 100 per cent after 20 months.
Introduction of Breadfast Pay
With the introduction of Breadfast Pay, which provides branded payment cards, deposits, withdrawals, and savings tools, Breadfast is also entering fintech.
Inspired by Asian super-apps, this multi-service approach seeks to increase customer engagement while broadening sources of income.
The EBRD’s support highlights investor confidence in the startup’s growth prospects, despite Breadfast’s valuation being based on private market transactions and categorised as Level 3 assets under IFRS. Replicating its operational efficiency on a larger scale will be challenging as it expands into new verticals and geographical areas.