OmniRetail, the Lagos-based B2B e-commerce platform founded in 2019, has secured a $20 million Series A equity investment to fuel its expansion plans. This round was co-led by Norfund, the Norwegian development finance institution, and Timon Capital, a Lagos-based venture capital firm. Additional participation came from Ventures Platform, Aruwa Capital, Goodwell Investments (via Alitheia Capital), and Flour Mills of Nigeria.
The newly raised capital is intended to broaden OmniRetail’s footprint across Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast, further deepen its embedded finance products, and optimize its supply chain infrastructure. Key planned uses include strengthening credit underwriting tools, upgrading logistics and warehousing efficiency, deepening category penetration into areas like personal care, home care, and cold storage, and strategically acquiring complementary businesses.
This funding brings OmniRetail’s total capital raised to $38 million in equity and debt since inception. Importantly, this Series A round marks Norfund’s first-ever direct equity investment in an African startup, highlighting OmniRetail’s perceived potential to act as essential infrastructure in Africa’s vast, fragmented informal retail sector.
The funding follows significant internal achievements: OmniRetail became EBITDA positive in 2023 and net profitable in 2024, a rare milestone for African B2B commerce startups. The company’s business now facilitates order management for 145 manufacturers, links to over 5,800 distributors, and services more than 150,000 informal retailers across 12 cities in Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. It also operates through an asset-light model, relying on 85 third-party logistics partners managing 1,100 vehicles.
Recent strategic moves such as the 2024 acquisition of Traction Apps — a Nigeria-based merchant solutions platform with POS terminals and payment licenses — have equipped OmniRetail with expanded full-stack payment capabilities and retailer-level sales data access. OmniRetail’s embedded finance product, Omnipay, now disburses ₦19 billion (~$12 million) monthly in inventory credit with near-zero default rates, according to company reports.
Why Investors Backed OmniRetail
a. Profitability in a Struggling Sector
While many African B2B e-commerce startups have faltered under high operational costs, OmniRetail’s asset-light “network of networks” model (relying on third-party logistics and distributed warehousing) has enabled sustainable margins. Unlike competitors that burned cash on owned logistics, OmniRetail aggregated existing infrastructure, optimizing efficiency.
b. Embedded Finance as a Growth Lever
OmniRetail waited to launch financial products until it achieved critical scale (150,000+ retailers, 5,800+ distributors). This timing allowed data-driven underwriting, reducing defaults. Its acquisition of Traction Apps further deepened financial integration, capturing retailer transaction data to tailor credit offerings.
c. Dominance in Informal Retail Supply Chains
The informal FMCG sector in West Africa is fragmented and opaque. OmniRetail’s digitization of order management, payments, and logistics addresses visibility gaps that have long hindered financing. OmniRetail’s platform does not seek to replace distributors and retailers but to make their operations more transparent and efficient — an approach that resonates well in informal markets resistant to radical disruption. Investors see this as infrastructure-building, not just commerce.
d. Experienced Leadership & Strategic Execution
Founder Deepankar Rustagi and his team have decades of combined FMCG and fintech experience, enabling precision in scaling. Unlike startups that expanded recklessly, OmniRetail’s measured growth (12 cities across 3 countries) ensured profitability wasn’t sacrificed.
Norfund’s Perspective:
“OmniRetail isn’t just fintech or commerce — it’s infrastructure. Embedded finance unlocks growth for Africa’s underserved small businesses.” — Cathrine Conradi, Norfund Investor Director
Timon Capital’s Take:
“OmniRetail has hit an inflection point in distribution, payments, and credit. Their profitable expansion proves the model works.”
A Look at OmniRetail
OmniRetail was founded in 2019 by Deepankar Rustagi, who previously ran VConnect, a platform linking businesses and customers in Nigeria. OmniRetail’s mission is to digitize and streamline the supply chain of the African informal retail sector, particularly in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), by leveraging technology and financial services.
OmniRetail’s core operations revolve around Nigeria, but its market presence is expanding rapidly across Ghana and Ivory Coast. Its platform provides retailers with digital tools for inventory ordering, working capital access, and payments, while connecting manufacturers and distributors via a unified ecosystem.
Unlike traditional B2B commerce platforms that operate heavy logistics models, OmniRetail pursues an asset-light approach, aggregating third-party logistics providers instead of owning warehouses and fleets. This strategy has allowed for rapid, low-capital expansion while maintaining service quality.
The company operates a “network of networks” model, where efficiency gains arise from integrating a vast network of manufacturers, distributors, logistics companies, and retailers rather than displacing them. This model has proven highly scalable and profitable, even as other B2B startups in Africa have struggled to find sustainable footing.
A pivotal part of OmniRetail’s growth strategy has been its focus on embedded finance — offering credit and payment solutions tailored to the needs of its retailer base. The acquisition of Traction Apps in 2024 further entrenched OmniRetail’s positioning by providing full-stack payment services and access to granular retailer data for better credit underwriting.
Under Rustagi’s leadership, and with the support of senior executives like Archit Bagaria (Head of Investments), OmniRetail combines operational efficiency, ecosystem expertise, and financial services integration to offer a comprehensive solution to Africa’s informal retail market, a sector that remains largely untapped and highly fragmented.
Today, OmniRetail stands out as one of the few African tech startups not only scaling across markets but doing so while maintaining profitability — a critical factor that sets it apart as it targets even broader geographic and product category expansions.