Simbisa buys out Kenya delivery arm Kutuma for $664,000
What's the deal? Simbisa Brands, the Zimbabwean group behind Pizza InnDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Chicken Inn, has bought out the minority shareholder in Kutuma KenyaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the delivery company serving its fast-food chains. The deal, worth US$835.2K, gives Simbisa full ownership, up from 75% a year earlier.
Why now? Delivery has become a material sales channel in Kenya. Net value of goods sold through delivery rose to 27.4% of Kenyan turnover from 21.7%, nearing the group's 30% target.
What's the endgame? Kutuma runs Dial a Delivery for Simbisa's chains, plus Yum, which lists Nairobi restaurants and grocers, and Swyft, a delivery service for businesses. It wants to build a marketplace around those operations. More orders from nearby merchants would keep riders busier and spread delivery costs.
By the numbers: Simbisa completed 3.23 million Kenyan deliveries in the year to June, up from 2.03 million. Delivery orders rose 59% year on year. "Delivery channels continued to gain momentum," the group said in its annual report.
Kenyan revenue climbed 11% and operating profit 16%, even as average spending fell 3% in dollar terms amid pricing and promotions. Simbisa had 257 outlets in Kenya against 352 in Zimbabwe, where delivery made up just 5.1% of turnover.
What could go wrong? A full marketplace pits Kutuma against Glovo, Uber EatsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Bolt Food. Its own restaurants supply a base of orders, but the next test is whether third-party merchants add enough volume to make the model pay.
The signal: The modest price marks this as a targeted operational buyout rather than a strategic shift. With Jumia FoodDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → gone since December 2023 and most retailers tied to no exclusive platform, Simbisa is betting it can turn an in-house logistics arm into an open delivery network.
Read more: techcabal.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
