Foodmandu secured a second round fund-raise from Team Ventures, a private investment fund based in Nepal, reads the press statement from the company. 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 three 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. Newly secured fund will be used primarily towards geographic expansion”.
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 home grown, new economy business like Foodmandu and be a part of its future growth,” said Tenzin Gonsar, Founder and 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 centre 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 investments 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 ten-fold over the last four years.
