OmniRetail has raised $20 million in Series A equity funding to expand its operations across Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
The company is building what it calls a “network of networks” to rewire traditional trade in Africa by digitising order management and embedded financial services for retailers, distributors, and manufacturers.
The funding round was jointly led by Norfund, a Norwegian development finance institution, and Timon Capital, a Lagos-based venture capital firm. Ventures Platform, Aruwa Capital, Goodwell Investments (via Alitheia Capital), and Flour Mills of Nigeria also participated.
This is Norfund’s first direct equity investment in an African startup.
Founded in 2019 by Deepankar Rustagi, OmniRetail has so far raised $38 million in equity and debt. Its platform connects 145 manufacturers, more than 5,800 distributors, and over 150,000 informal retailers across 12 cities.
Retailers use the app to place orders, get working capital, and process digital payments, backed by a logistics network of over 1,100 vehicles and 85 warehouse partners.
So far, the company has been profitable, becoming EBITDA positive in 2023. By 2024, it turned net profitable, a rare achievement among African startups.
Rustagi attributed the success to efficient asset use within their network model. “The profitability journey was an outcome of our efficiency on utilising the assets that we aggregated in the network, and this has proven that the model that we put together as a ‘network of networks’ is profitable and is highly scalable,” he said.
“That’s the reason we went ahead and raised the capital to finally put the metal on the pedal and scale in more geographies and more categories. We’re expanding now not just to grow, but to optimise.”
Rustagi, speaking alongside OmniRetail’s head of investment, Archit Bagaria, said the leadership team’s deep experience in FMCG retail helped them to build an edge. Bagaria explained, “For years, goods have been moving from point A to point B, but the lack of transparency has hindered financial inclusion and caused inefficiencies in the process.”
A key shift came when OmniRetail expanded beyond commerce into embedded finance. Rather than rushing into offering credit like many of its peers, the company waited until it had critical mass. This discipline paid off.
Last year, OmniRetail processed transactions worth over ₦1.3 trillion ($810 million) and now disburses ₦19 billion ($12 million) monthly in inventory credit through its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service, Omnipay, with almost no defaults.
In 2024, OmniRetail acquired Traction Apps, a Nigerian merchant solution platform. This gave OmniRetail full-stack payment capabilities, including POS terminals, payment licenses, and access to granular sales data from retailers.
It also offered OmniRetail the ability to build financial profiles of individual retailers and offer customised credit solutions.
Rustagi said, “Every transaction in the FMCG value chain has two sides: the movement of goods and the movement of funds. Today, we are in a position to aggregate maximum benefits from every transaction in the value chain. Our plan is to dive deep into the value chain and maximise margins. International players have done well in their markets, and we’re bringing that model to Nigeria today.”
OmniRetail no longer reports GMV (gross merchandise volume), a common metric for startups. Instead, the company says it grew net merchandise volume (NMV) by 35% and revenue by 40% over the past year, all while staying profitable. This decision shows a transition in strategy towards sustainable growth rather than flashy but empty numbers.
The fresh capital injection will help OmniRetail expand into product categories like personal care, home care, and cold storage. The investment will also flow into improving infrastructure, credit underwriting, and stronger partnerships with local debt providers.
Bagaria revealed that the next moves include a solid debt raise for inventory finance and strategic acquisitions. “Some of our next moves are laser-focused: a solid debt raise for inventory finance, strategic acquisitions, and relentless profitable growth,” he said.
Norfund’s Investor Director, Cathrine Conradi, said, “Embedded finance is one of the most transformative tools for small business growth in Africa. OmniRetail’s model brings capital to areas where traditional systems haven’t reached.”
Meanwhile, Timon Capital, an early backer, said, “OmniRetail has now hit an inflexion point in distribution, payments, and credit, showing just how much profitable growth they can generate with their expanding footprint.”
OmniRetail wants to be the go-to traditional retail platform across West Africa, not by tearing down the old system, but by making it more efficient, more transparent, and more profitable.
