The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is injecting $10 million into Breadfast, Egypt’s leading online grocery retailer, as part of the company’s Series B2 funding round. The investment is a strong vote of confidence in a startup that has become a rare bright spot in Africa’s venture landscape, with its valuation climbing to approximately $382.3 million.
The capital injection from the development bank, led by Novastar Ventures, is earmarked to accelerate Breadfast’s domestic growth. The company plans to increase its number of fulfilment centres in its existing hubs of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, and Mansoura, while also expanding into new cities across Egypt.
The move comes as new figures from Swedish investment firm VNV Global, a key backer, reveal Breadfast’s sharp upward trajectory. In its Q2 2025 report, VNV disclosed that the fair value of its 7.9% stake in the startup has grown to $30.2 million, a significant increase from its initial $16.9 million investment in 2021.
This performance contrasts sharply with other high-profile African bets in VNV’s portfolio. Kenya-based B2B e-commerce platform Wasoko saw a 25% quarter-on-quarter valuation drop, while the mobility company SWVL continues to struggle on public markets.
A Model Built for Resilience
Founded in 2017 by Mostafa Amin, Abdullah Nofal, and Muhammad Habib, Breadfast has evolved from a bakery delivery service into a full-fledged quick-commerce platform. It delivers a catalogue of over 6,000 products — from fresh produce and meat to household essentials — in under 60 minutes.
The company’s success lies in its vertically integrated model. By controlling its entire supply chain, from its own bakeries and sourcing to its network of dark stores and last-mile delivery fleet, Breadfast has navigated the logistical complexities and thin margins of the Egyptian market.
“Building a grocery marketplace alone wouldn’t work,” co-founder and CEO Mostafa Amin noted previously. “Owning the supply chain was necessary because the margins are thin, and reliability in emerging markets is key.”
The strategy is paying off. Breadfast now operates over 30 fulfilment centres, processes nearly one million orders per month, and serves over 300,000 active users. The company surpassed $150 million in annual recurring revenue in 2024 and maintains a customer retention rate of over 80%. VNV Global highlighted the company’s dollar-based gross merchandise value (GMV) retention, which exceeds 100% after 20 months, as a key indicator of its long-term viability, especially given Egypt’s high inflation and currency devaluations.
EBRD Focuses on Competition and Jobs
The EBRD’s investment is guided by its mandate to foster competitive and inclusive economies. According to the bank’s project summary, the funding will enhance competition by enabling Breadfast’s expansion and supporting proprietary technology improvements. A key part of the project also involves increasing the share of its own private-label products, boosting margins further.
On the inclusivity front, the expansion is set to create a significant number of new jobs in both fulfilment centres and central operations. The company has committed to implementing wide-ranging training programmes focusing on digital, logistics, technical, and management skills for new and existing employees in both white- and blue-collar roles.
Next Stop: Fintech
With its grocery dominance solidifying, Breadfast is venturing into financial services. The company has launched “Breadfast Pay,” a fintech arm aimed at offering services like deposits, withdrawals, savings accounts, and a branded payment card.
This “super-app” strategy, popular in Asian markets, is designed to increase customer engagement and open new revenue streams by tapping into Egypt’s large unbanked and underbanked population.
While Breadfast’s valuation is based on a recent market transaction, VNV Global classifies it under IFRS as a ‘Level 3’ asset, meaning its value is derived from inputs not observable in public markets. However, the investor’s continued confidence and the EBRD’s strategic backing signal that Breadfast has built a durable model. As it pushes into new cities and financial services, the key challenge will be to see if its operational playbook can scale without sacrificing its impressive unit economics.