, Columnist
Rocket Internet Holds Out for a Hero
Samwer brothers need food start-up profit and IPOs
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As Rocket Internet tries to prove the short-sellers wrong, there's a lot riding on its bet on food-related start-ups. Oliver Samwer, founder of the web investment group, needs to start serving up proof that he can turn growth into profit.
More than half of the value Rocket ascribes to its portfolio is now in food and grocery, the biggest being meal-kit specialist Hello Fresh and online take-out provider Delivery Hero. They're two of the remaining unicorns (young tech companies valued at more than $1 billion) Samwer is trying to nurture to flotation after selling a stake in e-commerce site Lazada to Alibaba this week.