Egyptian q-commerce startup Breadfast is cementing its status as a rare bright spot in Africa’s venture landscape, with a new $10m investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) arriving as its valuation climbs to an estimated $382.3m.
The investment is part of the company’s Series B2 funding round and comes as Breadfast officially launches its new fintech arm, Breadfast Pay, signalling a strategic push to build a super-app for Egyptian households.
The move is backed by strong performance metrics revealed by one of its key investors, Swedish VNV Global. In its Q2 2025 report, VNV disclosed that the fair value of its 7.9% stake in the startup has grown to $30.2m, a significant increase from its initial $16.9m 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 resilient model
Founded in 2017 by Mostafa Amin, Abdullah Nofal, and Muhammad Habib, Breadfast began as a bakery delivery service before expanding into a full-fledged quick-commerce platform. It now delivers a catalogue of over 6,000 products — from fresh produce and meat to household essentials — in under 60 minutes.
The company’s success in navigating the thin margins and logistical complexities of the Egyptian market is largely attributed to its vertically integrated model. Breadfast controls its entire supply chain, from its own bakeries and sourcing agreements to a network of over 30 dark stores and a proprietary last-mile delivery fleet.
“Building a grocery marketplace alone wouldn’t work,” co-founder and CEO Mostafa Amin has previously noted. “Owning the supply chain was necessary because the margins are thin, and reliability in emerging markets is key.”
The strategy appears to be working. The company now serves over 300,000 active users and processes nearly one million orders per month. According to company data, it surpassed $150m 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, particularly in a market grappling with high inflation and currency devaluations.
Next stop: Fintech
With its grocery business solidifying, Breadfast is making a decisive move into financial services. The company recently announced the launch of the “Breadfast Card” through its new fintech division, Breadfast Pay.
The initiative, led by Breadfast Pay Director Gamal Mohie, was developed in partnership with Visa, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank–Egypt (ADIB), and the technology provider MDP, with regulatory support from the Central Bank of Egypt.
“This is another powerful step toward building a household-first digital payments experience to help our dear customers save, spend, and manage transactions in one place,” said Amin.
The fintech arm aims to offer a suite of services including deposits, withdrawals, and savings accounts, positioning Breadfast to evolve into a “super-app” that can deepen customer engagement and tap into Egypt’s large unbanked and underbanked population.
Strategic capital
The EBRD’s $10m injection 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.
According to the bank’s project summary, the funding will enhance market competition and support the development of Breadfast’s proprietary technology. A key part of the project also involves increasing the share of its own private-label products to further boost margins.
The expansion is also set to create new jobs, with Breadfast committing to implementing wide-ranging training programmes in digital, logistics, and management skills for its employees.
While Breadfast’s valuation is based on a recent market transaction, VNV Global classifies it as a ‘Level 3’ asset, meaning its value is derived from inputs not observable in public markets. However, with the backing of a major development bank and a proven operational playbook, the key challenge for Breadfast will be scaling its impressive unit economics as it ventures deeper into finance and new territories.