Omnibiz, Lagos-based startup raises seed round of $3m for expansion

A Lagos-based startup, Omnibiz has raised a seed round of $3 million to expand into new markets.

The round was led by V&R Africa, Timon Capital and Tangerine Insurance. Other participants in the round include Lofty Inc., Musha Ventures, Sunu Capital, Launch Africa, and Rising Tide Africa.

Omnibiz is a B2B e-commerce platform that connects fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) manufacturers to retailers by digitizing the supply chain stakeholders.

Launched in 2019 by Deepankar Rustagi, the platform offers a mobile app, WhatsApp channel and a phone number that retailer can use to stock their shops. Omnibiz says in a statement that retailers “can place orders at their convenience and have goods delivered to their doorstep at no cost.”

Omnibiz operates an asset-light retail distribution model. When a retailer makes an order on the Omnibiz platform, it is requested from partner distributors who store goods on behalf of manufacturers and are traditionally known to help out with warehousing and transportation, Techcrunch reported.

This new round takes the company’s total investment to $4 million. Rustagi said that the company also got funding from Seedstars and will participate in the accelerator’s growth program.

The company is currently in four cities across Nigeria — Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna and will add two more cities, Ibadan and Kano, before the end of August.

The new investment will be used to expand in other West African cities outside Nigeria — Abidjan, Takoradi, Kumasi and Accra. Omnibiz will also use the investment to create new tech products that will enhance value for the retailers. The company will work with partners to increase the working capital availability for the retailers and digital tools to manage their business more efficiently.

Food, non-alcoholic beverages, personal care, and baby care products are the top categories on the Omnibiz platform. The company is planning to expand into new categories like alcoholic beverages and OTC pharmaceutical products.

Raj Kulasingam and Vishal Agarwal of V&R Africa said, “I think Omnibiz will be the role model for B2B retail in Africa and can scale well into other emerging markets. We are excited and happy to be supporting Omnibiz in all ways beyond just providing capital.