Harrison White
The Phnom Penh-based online food-delivery application Muuve will cease operations after being acquired by a rival company.
In an announcement seen to Cambodia Investment Review the company said it was pleased to have partnered with drivers over the last three years adding Muuve Tech Co Ltd will cease all operations and stop accepting customer orders from May 30, 2022.
The food ordering and delivery service platform was co-founded in 2018 by Cambodian entrepreneurs Panh Phanith (CEO) and Vathanak Choun (Head of Business Development).
Speaking to Cambodia Investment Review Vathanak Choun said the company had been acquired however would not confirm the company who purchased Muuve or amount.
In 2020 the company said it had over 95,000 users and confirmed an uptick in business. “During the last three months before the outbreak, orders on Muuve have increased by 130 percent,” a company representative said.
“Muuve partners with 80 percent of the restaurants in Phnom Penh and they offer everything from street food to takeout from restaurants,” they added.
Consolidation of the food-delivery sector expected
The business which was awarded “Startup of the Year” in 2019 by the Cambodian Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications was invested in January 2021 by the $55 million World Bridge Venture Capital fund Ooctane which has also appeared to cease activity.
Muuve was the only investment the fund has ever made and it was not revealed how much of the fund was invested into Muuve or the investment arrangement.
The VC fund was going to focus on sectors such as logistics, e-commerce, real estate and financial services within the technology umbrella.
Cambodia’s food delivery sector has undergone extreme competition with other food-delivery companies including E-GetS, Meal Temple, TADA, NHAM24 and Foodpanda Cambodia now crowding the shrinking market.
More consolidation is now expected as consumer habits revert to pre-pandemic activities of dining in, buying at stores and road networks reopen in full.
