TUNISIA – Orange Ventures, the Venture Capital Fund of the Orange Group, has announced an investment in Tunisian mobility startup Lamma that specializes in last-mile mobility
This comes just after Lamma has launched its new Quick Commerce (Q-Commerce) application, which aims to revolutionize customer experience in Tunisia by delivering all everyday orders in less than 45 minutes.
“We look forward to the support of Orange Ventures at this stage of the development of our project,” said Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi, CEO of Lamma.
“We wish with this investment continue our acceleration by concentrating all our efforts to provide the best distribution and to quickly conquer other Tunisian cities, before expanding internationally in early 2022, beginning with Morocco.”
Lamma has relatively been gaining traction since inception. The startup now has over 1,000 items and eateries, including grocery and fresh produce, beauty products, fashion and parapharmacy, as well as electrical accessories and smartphones. Lamma has equally already convinced more than 150 partner merchants to join its network.
“This second investment in Tunisia, which we were able to make thanks to Orange Fab’s local support, confirms our belief in the Tunisian start-up ecosystem’s potential,” said Gregory of Padirac, the chief at Orange Ventures.
“We believe that in North Africa and Tunisia, the Super App model should be prioritised, including through the use of the most advanced smartphones and online consumption equipment.
“We believe the Lamma team will play a key role in this transition, which we’ve seen in other parts of the world, such as Asia with Wechat and Go-Jek, or Latin America with Rappi, to name a few examples.”
Lamma, founded by Hamza Guesmi and Koussi Aymen this year, has devised an ultra-fast logistics system based on delivery oversight and complete automation.
The startup’s first two Dark Tunisian Blinds boutiques in Tunis are 100% focused on ultra-fast delivery. The global trend of Q-commerce is a trade that is very close to the consumer and more computerized, allowing the startup to free up time and energy for their social lives.
Lamma plans to open three more Dark Stores by the end of the year, covering 80 percent of Greater Tunis’s population.
The startup had previously focused on carpooling in its first year of operation and was able to build a base of 15,000 users.