OmniRetail Secures $20M to Revolutionize African FMCG Retail with Tech and Finance

In 2024, OmniRetail secured a $20 million Series A funding round, reinforcing its mission to transform informal retail in Nigeria and West Africa through technology and embedded finance. This investment, co-led by Norfund and Timon Capital, will accelerate OmniRetail’s expansion into Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast while enhancing its embedded finance offerings.

Founded in 2019, OmniRetail has raised $38 million in equity and debt, building a network that digitizes order management for 145 manufacturers, over 5,800 distributors, and more than 150,000 informal retailers across 12 cities. Retailers benefit from an app that facilitates inventory ordering, working capital access, and digital payments, supported by a logistics network of 1,100 vehicles and 85 local partners.

OmniRetail’s asset-light strategy has been pivotal in achieving profitability, becoming EBITDA positive in 2023 and net profitable in 2024. This approach focuses on optimizing warehouse occupancy, smarter logistics, and deeper category penetration to improve margins. The company’s leadership team leverages decades of FMCG ecosystem experience to identify supply chain inefficiencies and enhance transparency.

A key differentiator for OmniRetail is its timing in launching embedded finance products. By waiting until achieving significant distribution scale and data maturity, the company now processes over ₦1.3 trillion (~$810 million) in annual transactions, with its buy-now-pay-later product, Omnipay, disbursing ₦19 billion (~$12 million) monthly with near-zero defaults.

The acquisition of Traction Apps, a Nigerian merchant solutions platform, further strengthens OmniRetail’s control over the supply chain by providing full-stack payment capabilities and retailer-level sales data. This integration allows tailored financial solutions and deeper insights into retailer profiles, enhancing operational efficiency and credit underwriting.

OmniRetail’s shift from emphasizing gross merchandise volume to focusing on net merchandise volume and revenue growth highlights its commitment to sustainable, profitable expansion. Over the past year, the company reported a 35% increase in net merchandise volume and a 40% rise in revenue while maintaining profitability.

Looking ahead, OmniRetail plans to use the new capital to grow its retailer base, expand into new product categories such as personal care and cold storage, upgrade infrastructure, and enhance credit underwriting tools. Strategic acquisitions and a debt raise for inventory finance are also on the horizon to support continued profitable growth.

For investors like Norfund, OmniRetail represents critical infrastructure that leverages embedded finance to unlock capital for small businesses in underserved African markets. Timon Capital views this funding round as a breakout moment, underscoring OmniRetail’s ability to generate profitable growth through its expanding distribution, payments, and credit footprint.

OmniRetail’s journey offers valuable lessons for African B2B e-commerce startups: leveraging asset-light, network-based models; prioritizing profitability over scale; embedding financial services after achieving scale; and deeply understanding local supply chains. These strategies enable sustainable growth and financial inclusion in vast informal markets.