Egypt’s MaxAB and Wasoko finalize Africa’s largest tech merger

Cairo – August 29, 2024: Wasoko and MaxAB, one of Africa’s largest B2B ecommerce platforms, announced the completion of the continent’s largest-ever tech merger on Tuesday, transforming them from B2B e-commerce specialists into a multi-vertical ecosystem serving Africa’s $600 billion informal retail sector.

“This merger proves that massive, world-class tech companies can be built in Africa for Africa,” says Belal El-Megharbel, Co-CEO at Wasoko and MaxAB.

Originally outlined in preliminary terms during Q4 2023, the merger consisted of an all-stock transaction, creating a comprehensive Pan-African platform for accessing both digital and physical goods.

“As first-movers, we fully embrace our responsibility to drive the development of a mature and thriving ecosystem, building foundational infrastructure that will empower future companies to fully unlock Africa’s vast economic potential in years to come,” El-Megharbel noted.

Leveraging Wasoko and MaxAB’s extensive, hyper-localised online and offline expertise across Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt and Morocco, the newly-formed entity boasts the continent’s largest network of B2B informal retailers of more than 450,000 merchants, connected to more than 65 million consumers, explained a statement from MaxAB.

The integration of Wasoko’s and MaxAB’s tech stacks and operations was completed in under 60 days, with the rapid integration enabling the launch of new business units beyond traditional e-commerce, including fintech services such as e-payments, credit financing, and digital services top-ups. These offerings are accessible through a unified app tailored for African informal retailers.

MaxAB’s FinTech platform’s digital services generated over $180 million in annual sales to 7 million consumers via 40,000 retailers in Egypt, the company’s largest market. In the past year, its new credit financing vertical disbursed over $20 million to retailers, boasting a repayment rate exceeding 99 percent.

The merged entity will be led by Daniel Yu, CEO of Wasoko, and Belal El-Megharbel, CEO of MaxAB, who will serve as Co-CEOs and board directors alongside investors from both companies.

Key shareholders include major growth investors such as Silver Lake, Tiger Global, Lunate, VNV Global, British International Investment, and Avenir Growth, as well as prominent venture investors like Beco Capital, 4DX Ventures, Quona Capital, Amplo, Breyer Capital, AHL Ventures, Endure Capital, and Flourish Ventures.