Region's largest pre-seed funding of $11 million secured by rapid Egyptian grocery delivery service, Rabbit, within 20 minutes.
Rabbit Revolutionises Grocery Delivery in Cairo with 20-Minute Service
Rabbit, a Cairo-based grocery delivery startup, is making waves in the Egyptian market by building a network of tech-enabled dark stores to offer groceries and more through its mobile app in just 20 minutes. This innovative service is part of Rabbit's mission to save customers time, with operations and work measured by seconds.
Founded this year by Ahmad Yousry, Walid Shabana, Ismail Hafez, and Tarek El Geresy, Rabbit is building a business with speed as a core part of its DNA. Ahmed Yousry, the co-founder and CEO, aims to save customers time so they can do more with their day.
Rabbit's $11 million pre-seed round, the largest ever in the Middle East and Africa, is a testament to the startup's potential. The express grocery delivery trend, pioneered by Turkish startup Getir, has become popular in American and European markets and is now gaining traction in emerging markets.
Other startups in the region offering similar services include Mataa from Libya, Calo from Saudi Arabia, and AJEX Logistics Services operating across Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait. Mataa, a mobile-first shopping app, provides express delivery options and is expanding its logistics capacity to strengthen fast delivery in the region. Calo, while primarily a foodtech platform, aligns with express grocery and food deliveries in the area due to its rapid delivery model. AJEX Logistics Services, a logistics provider, supports e-commerce including groceries, emphasising speed and reliability.
Established companies like Carrefour UAE provide extensive online grocery delivery but focus less exclusively on ultra-fast 20-minute fulfillment compared to startups specialised in quick commerce. However, with the emergence of new entrants like Mataa, the Middle East and Africa landscape is seeing a surge in fast delivery services.
Ahmed Yousry, prior to founding Rabbit, led Talabat Mart in Egypt and worked in Uber Egypt for over two years, leading Uber Eats in the country in his last role. Recent entrants in the market include Breadfast, which launched its 20-minute grocery delivery service last week, and Talabat, which has been offering an express 30-minute grocery delivery for a few months now.
The investment for Rabbit came from Global Founders Capital, Foundation Ventures, Raed Ventures, MSA Captial, and Goodwater Capital. Rabbit is the first notable player that's building its business from scratch around the promise of 20-minute delivery of groceries.
As Rabbit continues to grow, it's clear that the future of grocery delivery in Cairo and beyond is becoming faster and more convenient than ever before.
In their quest to revolutionize grocery delivery, Rabbit is expanding beyond groceries and delving into technology to integrate with other services, offering a seamless experience. To fund this technological leap, Rabbit secured a significant investment from global ventures like Global Founders Capital, signaling the potential of fast commerce in the Middle East and Africa.
