OmniRetail raises $20 million Series A round to deepen its retailer base
The OmniRetail Series A funding marks a major milestone in Africa’s retail digitalisation. As Africa’s informal retail sector remains a cornerstone of daily commerce for hundreds of millions of people, the need for formal infrastructure and accessible financial tools has never been more urgent.
The OmniRetail, a B2B commerce startup digitising informal retailer supply chain, recently announced the OmniRetail Series A funding, raising $20 million in an equity funding round, to further expand its retailer base and also increase its supported product categories like personal care, home care, and cold storage.
Born in January 2019 by Deepankar Rustagi, this round brings OmniRetail`s financing to a total of $38 million in equity and debt. The B2B company operates through three interconnected platforms: OmniBiz, a digital marketplace which connects retailers, manufacturers and distributors; Mplify, a software solution that helps users manage their inventories in one place, and OmniPay; a financial infrastructure service offering digital payment, access to loans, and a buy now, pay later system to their users.
“Retailers in Africa are often underserved, not because of a lack of demand, but because the systems around them are fragmented and inefficient. We’re building an infrastructure to connect manufacturers to retailers at scale, while also giving merchants the tools to run their businesses more efficiently,” said Deepankar Rustagi, founder and CEO of OmniRetail, told TechCrunch
The OmniRetail Series A funding round was backed by Norwegian development finance institution Norfund, being their first direct equity investment in an African startup, and Lagos, Nigeria-based VC firm Timon Capital, with follow-on participation from Ventures Platform, Aruwa Capital, Goodwell Investments (via Alitheia Capital), and Flour Mills of Nigeria.
Why the OmniRetail Series A funding matters for Africa’s retailer
“Embedded finance is one of the most transformative tools for small business growth in Africa,” said Norfund investor director Cathrine Conradi while describing OmniRetail’s role in embedded finance.
So far, OmniRetail has been operating in three countries, with over 140,000 retailers connected to a network of over sixty-five brands with access to over 900 products in its portfolio. Their order management portfolio consists of 145 manufacturers, and over 5,800 distributors all across 12 cities in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
The OmniRetail Series A funding comes at a crucial time when millions of small and medium-sized retailers across Africa are faced with broken supply chain links, inconsistent inventory access, and limited financing options.
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OmniRetail operates an asset-light model, which means it does not own and manage infrastructures like physical warehouses or logistics companies; instead, it partners with third-party traditional distributors by providing a tech solution that aggregates and empowers them. Unlike Wasoko, a company operating with similar interests, that swerved from operating an asset-light model to a full-scale asset-heavy model, cutting down on third-party warehousing and distribution services.
Other companies with similar interests, like Wasoko, Sabi, Alerzo, and TradeDepot, are also trying to crack the traditional method, just like OmniRetail is currently doing, but with a different understanding of how the retail market works. “The company’s progress also lies in a deep understanding of the FMCG retail ecosystem,” said Archit Bargaria, OmniRetail’s head of investment, in a conversation with TechCrunch.
Building on the asset-light model, OmniRetail became Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) positive in 2023 and in 2024, it achieved net profitability, processing over $810 million in transactions while reporting a 40% increase in revenue.
OmniRetail’s model also includes a strong focus on financial inclusion. The OmniPay app, with its wide offerings, gives retailers access to finance for their businesses, including zero transfers.
Looking ahead, the OmniRetail Series A funding will be an effective tool in helping OmniRetail deepen its relationship with manufacturers and distributors while they work towards removing friction that limits their merchants’ growth.
The OmniRetail Series A funding stands out at a time when investors’ interest in startups addressing supply chain and operational challenges has faded. This shows OmniRetail’s strong investors’ confidence in its business model and its role as a key enabler of Africa’s retail infrastructure.
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