16 February 2020
Foodmandu Pvt. Ltd., that operates Nepal’s largest food delivery platform, has secured a second round fund-raise from Team Ventures, a private investment fund based in Nepal.
Founded by Manohar Adhikari, an IT professional, in 2010, Foodmandu’s food delivery business survived the 2015 earthquake and gained momentum subsequent to initial funding by True North Associates (TNA) in 2016. Foodmandu currently delivers food from 500 plus restaurants across 3 cities of Kathmandu Valley through a pool of 200 riders. The company also delivers fresh vegetables, beverages, and cakes to its patrons from farmers’ markets, wholesalers, and leading hotels. Adhikari, who is also the Chief Technology Officer at Foodmandu, said “We are encouraged by the confidence bestowed upon us by institutional investors time and again. The newly secured fund will be used primarily towards geographic expansion”. Augmented Reality features in the recent iteration of Foodmandu Online Food Festival received tremendous response from the consumers, setting a new trend for Nepali businesses.
At the conclusion of this deal, Team Ventures will have around 20% stake in Foodmandu through a mix of new shares and partial buy-out of TNA’s holding. “We are happy to have this opportunity to invest in a homegrown, new-economy business like Foodmandu and be a part of its future growth,” said Tenzin Gonsar, Founder & CEO of Team Ventures. His company has invested in a number of real estate development projects, a licensed merchant banking company, stock market and also operates its own trading company. Team Ventures is also the major shareholder of an institutional venture fund with controlling stake in multiple hydropower projects and the major promoter of an auto-servicing center chain supported by leading insurance companies.
Foodmandu is the first investment made by TNA, a leading domestic PEVC firm. It invests in sector-disruptive companies across financial services, agriculture, and tech-enabled businesses.
Nidhaan Shrestha, Investment Manager at TNA believes “Partial exit from Foodmandu sends a strong signal to the bubbling alternative investment ecosystem in Nepal that these investments work. It also confirms that we remain committed to Foodmandu. Moreover, this is an example of how proactive application of private equity investment can help companies scale faster.” Foodmandu’s business grew almost 10 times over the last 4 years.
