RIYADH: Egyptian on-demand grocery start-up Appetito has raised $1.9 million in a Pre-Series A round led by US-based Jedar Capital, MAGNitt reported. Golden Palm investments, DFS Lab, and a group of prominent angel investors and family offices, some of which had previously invested in similar grocery startups, also participated in the funding. The Egypt-based team will use the funds to further develop its platform and market offering and scale its operations to reach untapped geographic and demographic markets. Founded in March 2020, Appetito operates through a "dark stores" model, where products are sourced from manufacturers, stored in mini-fulfillment centers and then delivered to household customers. It currently operates seven dark stores in Cairo and plans to expand to 150 stores by 2024. “The grocery retail market size in Egypt is valued at $60 billion. The fact that 2 percent of it is currently online, creates a massive opportunity for growth betting on the younger generations as 50 percent of the Egyptian population are below the age of 25 years,” said Appetito founder and CEO Shehab Mokhtar.