Former chief executive of Just Eat, David Buttress, has made his biggest investment yet by backing Egypt's fastest growing online food ordering firm.
Mr Buttress, who is also chairman of Welsh rugby region the Dragons, has invested in elmenus, which saw its revenues grow by 300% in 2020 and which is predicting a ten times expansion this year with the long-term aim of dominating the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) marketplace.
The exact value of Mr Buttress' investment hasn't been disclosed, but with elmenus describing it as a "relatively significant" sum giving him a sizeable minority equity position.
The investment sees Mr Buttress joining the board of elmenus. It represents his largest ever personal business investment and his first in the Middle East.
The backing will support the firm's expansion plans over the next 18 months, which will include the recruitment of 4,000 new drivers.
The business, currently operating only in Egypt, already has 1.5 million monthly users.
Egypt’s online food delivery sector is just 6% of the total food delivery market, which elmenus said represents a huge organic growth opportunity.
Last year the MENA market was worth $3bn with 22.7 million users.
Mr Buttress said: "elmenus’ exponential growth this past year has been quite remarkable. It has been owning the food discovery approach, making it the stronger partner to restaurants as it provides them with more than just online ordering services.
“While elmenus witnessed a three times growth in 2020 since delivery increased drastically in light of the Covid-19 challenges and more restaurants outsourced their delivering operations, the company is expected to grow 10 times in 2021 as it upscales its product and restaurant offerings. It is an exciting time in the company’s evolution.”
Amir Allam, chief executive of elmenus, said: “As we aim to become the go-to food app for all dining decisions, and a partner of choice to restaurants to help them solve their scaling challenges in the Middle East North Africa region.
"I believe David’s insights and exceptional record will play a vital role in accelerating our growth and guiding elmenus in acquiring a significant share of the market. We are very excited to be working with an industry veteran like David. His belief in our vision is a grand testament to us.”
Mr Buttress led Just Eat from a start-up to becoming Europe’s largest technology flotationi, in just a decade. He is currently a venture partner at global venture capital firm, 83 North, and has several successful start-ups in his portfolio.
elmenus began as a directory providing users with menus and information about restaurants, while growing a community of followers who shared their love of food via images and reviews.
With a critical mass of users and restaurants, elmenus it launched its online ordering service in late 2018.
