Roots Financial Group has acquired a 42 per cent stake in Powell Interactive Limited, which operates under the QuickCart trademark, a digitally enabled local food services delivery platform. 

“The transaction involved the initial purchase of holdings held by a group of investors representing 22 per cent of the company as well as fresh capital for the expansion programme of the company,” said Roots Financial director Kevin Donaldson, adding that the fresh capital represents an additional 20 per cent stake in the company.

The goal of the transaction is to position QuickCart for exponential growth, he added in a press release.

The transaction was arranged by Roots, with legal services provided by Patterson Mair Hamilton and Carter Lindo. 

Monique Powell, QuickCart Founder and CEO said: “I am extremely pleased that Roots Financial has decided to come onboard as an investor. Their investment is a signal of their confidence in both the vision of the company and its leadership.

“This fresh injection of capital will go a long way in helping us to execute on our plans for expansion and product development, and we look forward to the perspective that Kevin Donaldson will bring to the table through his position as a newly appointed board member,” Powell added in the release.

QuickCart (formerly QuickPlate) has been in operation since March 2016 and, according to the company, has partnerships with over 130 merchants. It operates in both Kingston and Montego Bay.

Roots, which was incorporated as a limited liability company in Jamaica in December 2020, started operations in January 2022. The company is a private equity investment holding company which also provides mentorship and advisory services to portfolio companies. The company since inception has supported business in technology, logistics, marketing analytics, tourism, entertainment, healthcare and finance, it said in the release.