MaxAB: Reaching the Unreachable by Transforming B2B Supply Chains in Africa

Marianne Matthee: GIBS Business School (Gordon Institute of Business Science)
Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim: AUC Onsi Sawiris School of Business
Goods, trade, and consumer services
July 2026
Operations Management
MaxAB was founded in Egypt in August 2018 with the goal of enhancing access to goods for small retail stores, while optimizing the supply chain to reach these shops. Traditionally, distribution models for fast-moving consumer goods tended to serve primarily large retailers, leaving smaller stores to depend on multiple layers of wholesalers. This inefficiency resulted in higher costs, inconsistent supply, and a lack of data transparency. To address Egypt’s fragmented market, MaxAB developed a data-centric platform to provide value for both upstream and downstream suppliers. In August 2024, MaxAB merged with Wasoko, a company that had a similar business model but was operating in different regions of Africa. With both significant promise and potential risk, the combined MaxAB-Wasoko entity had to determine its best strategic direction for the future in the unique African business-to-business (B2B) landscape.

For the full case: Please log in/sign-up