Albanian grocery delivery startup Hajde raised $1M in seed investment, in a round led by UK-based fintech fund Fasanara Capital. Hajde was founded a year ago, in February 2021 by co-founders Erli Cupi and Geri Cupi, and currently has a presence in Albania and Kosovo.
The recent funding will help the startup expand to restaurant deliveries, and accelerate delivering its service in North Macedonia as its first expansion destination. “Hajde has raised $1M seed funding to power its expansion in the regional markets in the Balkans and South East Europe”, the startup stated in a social media post.
According to Hajde’s CEO Erli Cupi, the startup got a positive response over its services in Kosovo and Albania, Tech.eu reported. Hajde’s platform provides fast food and grocery delivery, usually within an hour.
“We aim to establish our presence in Macedonia, where we have clear executable plans on reaching and servicing local customers. During our intense, high-growth journey in Albania and Kosovo, we have first-hand witnessed a rapid adoption and an immensely positive response to our service”, Cupi said.
Last year, Hajde took part in the Uplift, an early-stage startup accelerator program for promising startups from Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia.
Food delivery services in the Balkans have seen an uptick during the COVID-19 pandemic, with various domestic and international delivery apps and websites becoming more and more popular.
Last year, Spanish delivery giant Glovo also showed an interest in the food delivery market in the region.
The company bought units previously owned by German online food delivery network Delivery Hero in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia.
Another grocery delivery startup from the region, Greek-based Pop Market also made headlines last year, after it raised a $3M seed round, highlighting the popularity of this industry in the Balkans.
