Vendease Founders Selected as Nigerian Entrepreneurs to Join Endeavor’s Global Network
[Lagos, Nigeria – 21 July 2023] — Endeavor concluded the 96th in-person International Selection Panel (ISP) held 17-19 July 2023 in Bali, Indonesia, with the selection of 25 new high-impact entrepreneurs representing 13 companies from 11 markets, including Nigeria’s Vendease founders, Tunde Kara, Wale Oyepeju, Olumide Fayankin, and Gatumi Aliyu.
Vendease is a food tech company that provides a digital platform for African restaurants to buy food supplies, access financial services, and power their business operations. With Vendease’s app, restaurants can order quality products at affordable prices (up to 15% less than comparable offerings) and deliver them within 12 hours. They also offer embedded financing through BNPL to improve clients’ cash flow cycles and increase basket sizes. Since its founding in 2020, Vendease has supplied restaurants with over 950k metric tons of food, saving its users over $9M+ in food costs and 35K procurement manhours.
Commenting on their selection into the global network, Tunde Kara, Co-founder/CEO at Vendease, said, “Running Vendease has never been ‘business as usual’ for us. It’s always been about the impact and transformational capacity of what we do and how it can change ecosystems and whole economies. This is why we know we’ve found the perfect home in the Endeavor community. A community of global leaders who understand the need for entrepreneurs to create sustainable wealth, grow economies and take humanity one step further into a collective prosperous future.
We’re glad to be home!“
Olumide Fayankin, Co-founder and COO at Vendease, adds: “One of Endeavor’s values is paying it forward, and we would describe our experience as follows: We had the opportunity to spend an hour with Diego Piacentini, who built Amazon International. Interestingly, at Vendease, we describe ourselves as “the Amazon for the food industry”, and they had just put us in the same room with one of our biggest mentors; nothing else epitomizes paying it forward.“
The ISP is the final phase of a multi-step rigorous selection process, where candidates pitch their companies to top international business leaders and investors from the Endeavor network, making those obtaining a unanimous vote officially Endeavor Entrepreneurs. Once selected into the network by a team of global panelists, entrepreneurs gain access to a wide array of services enabling them to scale their businesses faster and multiply their impact.
“We are pleased to welcome Tunde, Wale, Olumide, and Gatumi to our ever-expanding portfolio,” said Endeavor Nigeria’s Managing Director, Ireayomide Oladunjoye. “Their expertise, vision and dedication to innovation perfectly align with our values and our goal of supporting high-impact entrepreneurs. We believe that Vendease has the potential to revolutionize the food supply in Nigeria, and we are excited to support their growth and provide them with access to our vast network of resources and expertise.”
Jaideep Gulab, Endeavor Nigeria Board Member, added, “We are delighted to welcome four entrepreneurs who exemplify the Endeavor spirit and ethos. Tunde Kara, Olumide Fayankin, Wale Oyepeju and Gatumi Aliyu are four good friends who got together to solve a problem they saw in the marketplace. Their journey of collaboration and cooperation highlights the success that comes from playing to everyone’s strengths and taking advantage of individual skill sets. Entrepreneurs who lift all around them are exactly what Endeavor looks for and supports. Welcome to the family.”
As part of Endeavor’s network, the newly selected entrepreneurs will gain access to comprehensive, strategic, global support services, including introductions to local and international business mentors, investors, and volunteers from Fortune 500 consulting firms who will help them address key needs.
Endeavor Entrepreneurs have had a significant track record of impact. Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created over 4.1 million jobs, generated combined revenues of over $42+B, and helped build sustainable growth models in their home countries.
Vendease is the 21st company selected into the global Endeavor network through the regional affiliated office in Nigeria. All four entrepreneurs represent the growing expectation for exceptional entrepreneurs with big ambitions and the ability to execute at scale. They join Ngozi Dozie & Chijioke Dozie (Carbon), Etop Ikpe (Autochek), Gbenga Agboola & Ife Orioke (Flutterwave), Tayo Oviosu & Jay Alabraba (Paga), Ekechi Nwokah (Migo), Jasper Graf von Hardenberg & Christian Wessels (Daystar Power), Obi Ozor (Kobo), Kene Okwuosa & Moses Babatope (FilmHouse Group), Onyekachi Izukanne, Michael Ukpong & Ruke Awaritefe (TradeDepot), Tosin Eniolorunda & Felix Ike (Moniepoint), Adegoke Olubusi and Dimeji Sofowora (Helium Health), and Adetayo Bamiduro & Chinedu Azodoh (Metro Africa Xpress), Michael Moreland, Justin Lorenzon, & Peter Bunor (Field Intelligence), and Somto Ifezue, Odunayo Eweniyi, Joshua Chibueze (PiggyVest), Obi Emetarom, Emeka Emetarom & Wale Onawunmi (Zone), and Deepankar Rustagi (OmniRetail).
Media Contact:
Joy Mabia
Manager, Marketing and Communications, Endeavor Nigeria
About Endeavor
Endeavor is the world’s leading community of high-impact entrepreneurs. Founded in 1997, Endeavor is a global organization with a mission to unlock the transformational power of entrepreneurship by selecting, supporting, and investing in the world’s top founders.
Today, Endeavor’s network spans 42 markets and supports 2,438 entrepreneurs leading 1,506 companies that generate combined revenues of over $42+ billion US and have created more than 4.1 million jobs. Endeavor’s unique entrepreneur-first model and network of trust provide a platform for founders to dream bigger, scale faster, and pay it forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Endeavor launched its Nigeria office in 2018 to select and support the best founders of companies at the scale-up and growth stage who recognise a responsibility to pay it forward and multiply their impact in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
In Nigeria, there are 36 Endeavor Entrepreneurs leading 17 companies in their portfolio.
Learn more about Endeavor in Nigeria: www.endeavornigeria.org. Learn about Endeavor’s global network: www.endeavor.org
About The Co-Founders
Tunde Kara
Tunde is a co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer at Vendease. With a 14-year career building brands and leveraging technology to solve problems for businesses in Africa, he has become a driving force behind Vendease’s exponential growth.
Olumide Fayankin
Olumide is a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer at Vendease. He has over ten years of experience in sales, supply chain management and operations in the media, oil & gas and supply chain industries. At Vendease, Olumide is the powerhouse, leading growth, supply, procurement, and finance operations.
Gatumi Aliyu
As Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Vendease, Gatumi Aliyu ensures the product features and activities are aligned with the company’s business objectives. He combines his solid tech experience with commercial expertise and data-driven insights to create product vision and strategy. Motivated by improving customer product experiences, he leads a cross-functional team developing innovative products that optimize growth for over 3000 food businesses across Nigeria and Ghana.
Wale Oyepeju
Wale Oyepeju is a Co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer at Vendease. As a tech-preneur and a full-stack engineer, he has built technologies for a few global tech companies like IBM and MTN. He is now leading Vendease to become a technological powerhouse in the industry.
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