Egypt's technology start-up Roboost raises capital to increase growth

The seed round was led by Falak Startups, AUC Angels and a follow-on funding from Cairo's Flat6Labs

Venture capital funding in Egypt more than doubled to $307 million in the first half of 2022 from the previous year, according to start-up data platform Magnitt. AFP

Egypt-based technology start-up Roboost, previously known as Tayar, secured a six-figure seed round funding as the company aims to boost its core technology and gain new customers.

The funding round was led by Cairo-based Falak Startups that supports Egyptian entrepreneurs, AUC Angels, one of the first university-based angel investor networks in the Middle East and North Africa, and a follow-on funding from Flat6Labs — an Egypt-based seed and early-stage venture capital company, Roboost said in a statement on Wednesday.

The company did not disclose the exact amount raised in the latest round.

“With Roboost, we are helping businesses reach their full operational potential, and we have seen this as our clients reached the ultimate desired time of 20 minutes for customer satisfaction, and reduced their costs drastically by 30 per cent,” Roboost’s co-founder and chief operating officer Hassan Kamel said.

“With data collected from over 2,200 delivery agents travelling more than 9 million kilometres, we are always looking for new ways to improve our clients’ delivery operations and adding new features,” Mr Kamel said.

Founded in 2020, Roboost is an artificial intelligence-powered automated home delivery management solutions provider. It digitally mimics real-life operations, handles day-to-day situations and is capable of self-learning to optimise various aspects of the delivery operation.

With its technology-led solutions, the start-up intends to give retail, e-commerce, cloud kitchens and delivery provider businesses control over their delivery operations by making it simpler and offering real-time data.

Its system first integrates with the client’s selling channels, enabling it to automate order management, group optimisation, route optimisation, automated dispatching and delivery agent performance management, while monitoring all these factors in real-time, the company said.

“Our next goal is to empower SMEs [small and medium enterprises] by automating their deliveries through Roboost’s AI delivery marketplace, to be able to provide the best customer experience and grow their businesses,” said Mohamed Hassan, co-founder and chief executive of the company.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, is banking on technology and its start-up ecosystem to diversify its economy.

Venture capital funding in Egypt more than doubled to $307 million in the first half of 2022 from a year earlier, ranking it third in the Mena region, according to start-up data platform Magnitt. The number of deals in the country also grew by 22 per cent annually to 78 during the first six months of the year.

“We believe that this funding round will accelerate Roboost’s growth by enhancing their AI delivery management solution and expanding their product offering,” Mohamed El Ghannam, principal at Flat6Labs, said.