Nigeria’s Alerzo raises $10.5 million in Series A funding
Alerzo, a B2B ecommerce retail startup based in Ibadan, Nigeria, has announced that it raised $10.5 million in a Series A funding round.
August 25, 2021: Alerzo, a B2B ecommerce retail startup based in Ibadan, Nigeria, has announced that it raised $10.5 million in a Series A funding round. The company’s total funding is now over $20 million since its launch in 2019.
Nosara Capital led the round. Galaxy Digital, the family office of Michael Novogratz, FJ Labs, and several prominent family offices from the US, Europe and Asia also joined the round.
Alerzo, which was launched in 2019, works to empower informal retailers with various tools. Alerzo customers can order products through phone calls, text messages or WhatsApp. Once orders are received, Alerzo sends the requests to the right warehouses, where logistics teams deliver to the customer in around four hours.
The company is planning to add new features like a retailer app, which will let customers with smartphones order online, and a new app for cashless services, as per a Nairametrics report.
Alerzo founder Adewale Opaleye informed that the smartphone app had been delayed due to a lack of customers with smartphones.
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.
Alerzo owns and operates its full-stack tech-driven supply chain and logistics to process these orders. The company provides warehousing and fulfillment solutions to suppliers and storefront delivery to informal retailers. It currently owns over 200 vehicles and 20 warehouses to serve its thousands of customers.
Alerzo has an office in Singapore that serves as a regional hub to identify best practices among similar high-growth businesses operating across Southeast Asia and India and adapt them to the Nigerian market. Likewise, to expand its digital footprint, the company recently launched an office in Lagos.