If your business doesn’t have digital footprint then your in trouble because your business is missing out. Nigerian tech startup Alerzo, B2B e-commerce retail business has raised $10.5M to bring informal retail sector online.
According to Tech Crunch, the company announced a $10.5 million Series A round led by London-based Nosara Capital. FJ Labs and several family offices from the U.S., Europe and Asia, including Michael Novogratz’s, participated in the round.
Speaking with TechCrunch, Opaleye said he started Alerzo to empower the millions of women who are the backbone of consumer commerce in Nigeria’s $100 billion informal retail sector.
“Growing up in Ibadan, I watched my mother operate two informal retail stores to raise my three siblings and me. Seeing the many challenges she faced running her stores, and I decided to start a business that uniquely catered to the needs of retailers just like her,” he told TechCrunch in an interview.
Adewale Opaleye founded Alerzo in 2018 as a last-mile distribution platform that helps retailers stock inventory directly from manufacturers. Its business, officially launched in 2019, is centered on helping street-side vendors and shops in Nigeria’s south-western cities access household supplies quicker and efficiently.
Opaleya said Ibadan was the ideal market to establish its headquarters because informal retailers in the region experience these challenges more than those in Lagos.
Leave a Reply