The FGB Digest brings you the latest news on the world’s fastest growing direct-to-consumer and challenger brands. In today’s edition: Weezy raises seed funding for grocery delivery expansion; Wahyoo helping digitise small eateries in Indonesia; and Howsy hits 891% of funding target on Seedrs.

Weezy raises seed funding for grocery delivery expansion

London-based Weezy has raised seed funding for its 15-minute grocery delivery app. Weezy combines its own strategically located fulfilment centres with a fleet of electric moped and bicycle couriers, ready to accept orders via the Weezy app. The business will start in London’s affluent Fulham and Chelsea districts.

Its founders, Kristof Van Beveren and Alec Dent, think they’ve spotted a gap in the market for an online grocery service that targets “time-poor professionals and parents” who want the speed of an on-demand service but without it being prohibitively expensive.

Investors appear to agree, with Weezy launching out of stealth off the back of £1m in pre-seed funding from Heartcore Capital, in addition to various individual backers made up of former executives of Ocado, Tesco, Sainsbury’s Chop Chop and Deliveroo.

Notably, groceries are sourced not only from selected wholesalers, but also from local independent bakers, butchers and markets, seeing Weezy talk up its support for local businesses. The startup plans to open up to 15 more fulfilment centres in the U.K. capital city by the end of next year, before setting its sights on broader U.K. expansion.

Wahyoo helping digitise small eateries in Indonesia

Jakarta-based Wahyoo has landed USD$5m in Series A, led by Induto Ventures, to help small eateries digitise their operations. The capital will be used on hiring, developing Wahyoo’s tech platform and expanding beyond the Greater Jakarta area.

In a press statement about the investment, Intudo Ventures founding partner Patrick Yip said, “Small-and medium enterprises represent one of the major engines of economic growth in Indonesia and are being transformed through new innovative businesses like Wahyoo, bringing greater economic prosperity to small business owners throughout the country. Through the company’s digitisation efforts, Wahyoo’s highly targeted support for warung makan businesses is creating positive economic and social impact for Indonesia’s working class.”

Wahyoo launched its app almost exactly a year ago and has onboarded about 13,800 eateries so far. With about 268 million people, Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest markets, and there are already startups, like Warung Pintar and BakuWarung, that focus on helping warung, or small corner stores, digitise more of their operations.

Howsy hits 891% of funding target on Seedrs

Rental challenger brand Howsy’s funding on Seedrs is on a seemingly unstoppable roll. The brand, which initially aimed to raise £250k, has now raised almost £2.3m - 891% of the initial target.

Howsy is also hoping to apply for the UK Government’s Future Fund scheme, which  issues convertible loans to innovative UK companies with good potential, that typically rely on equity investment and are currently affected by Covid-19. The scheme will help these companies through the current period of economic disruption and the recovery, so they are able to continue their growth trajectory and reach their full economic potential.

Howsy Investment funds will form part of a planned larger investment round in 2020. In the short-term funds will be used for working capital and growth marketing. Howsy also notes that the Future Fund scheme forms a co-investment support package - meaning that the Government will match any qualifying investment 1-1. The business is aiming to qualify for the Future Fund with this Convertible Loan Note.

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