Mohamed Abdulaziz is a veteran of business, he started his own real estate company at 19 years old, before transitioning to trade and commerce. He decided to use his experience across these industries to set up Brimore, an end-to-end distribution platform in Egypt that connects factories, individual sellers, and consumers through its online marketplace.
Co-founded in 2017, by Mohamed Abdulaziz and Ahmed Sheikha, the company offers an easy and efficient way for factories of all sizes to reach their consumers through direct sellers. Solving what Abdulaziz essentially saw was one of the biggest obstacles facing producers across Egypt: lack of a clear, direct and efficient ways to offer their goods to customers. According to Abdulaziz, “Brimore has three main beneficiaries, factories that produce high-quality products and want to distribute their products. Direct sellers who need jobs, and consumers who can now buy these products at more affordable prices.” The company also currently offers a wide selection of goods, ranging from perfume and makeup to household essentials and appliances.
Abdulaziz says Brimore focuses on supporting individual sellers, especially women. He describes how there are thousands of women in Egypt who are unable to work due to familial and child obligations. Brimore’s platform enables these talented women to sell products online directly from the home. They can view, track and fulfill orders through the company’s app and avoid the impossible logistical hassles. According to the CEO, 95% of the company’s individual partners are women demonstrating how the company has presented an attractive way for producers to offer their goods to consumers through direct sellers.
Brimore had to overcome numerous challenges to reach the position it’s in. Egypt’s existing infrastructure makes it hard to transport orders from producers to the company’s warehouse and then on to consumers. Furthermore, online ordering is a relatively new concept in the Middle East and therefore lacks the essential support network, government regulation and financial backing required to support such an industry. However, Brimore managed to obtain $800,000 in investment from Endure Capital, Algebra Ventures, Flat6Labs and 500 Startups, enabling the company to bring its platform to market.
“Brimore has three main beneficiaries, factories that produce high-quality products and want to distribute their products. Direct sellers who need jobs, and consumers who can now buy these products at more affordable prices.”
Mohamed Abdulaziz, Co-founder & CEO, Brimore
The company has achieved notable growth since its founding two years ago. It has partnered with over 30 factories across 8 different industries and the platform enables over 6,500 women to sell their products. It has won several significant awards including the Orange Startup Cup and the African Entrepreneurship Award by BMCE Bank, ranking Brimore as one of Africa’s top 30 startups.
E-commerce Booming Across the Region
The e-commerce market in the Middle East is witnessing significant growth. According to PayFort, the MENA market will reach $69 billion by 2020, nearly doubling its valuation compared to a few years ago. In 2017 Emirates-based Souq.com captured headlines when Amazon announced it would purchase the online platform for a cool $580 million. Online platforms like Brimore will play a significant role in Egypt and across the region in presenting smaller producers a viable way of offering their goods to a wide range of consumers.
The company wants to grow every aspect of their business tenfold, from the number of orders placed to the factories and producers partnered with the platform. It also has plans to expand beyond Egypt into the rest of Africa. Brimore’s CBO Ahmed Sheikha believes its online marketplace is applicable all over the world and hopes to expand their platform to as many locations as possible. The company wants to harness the untapped potential present in thousands of producers across Egypt and the rest of the world.
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