Morocco's B2B Chari Closes Bridge Round
Morocco-based B2B pioneer Chari raises another bridge round to delve into endless possibilities of FinTech and micro-crediting solutions
Request specific data sets, export tailored directories, and explore the full potential of our Platform. Reach out to our Sales Team
Following their $5M SEED round along with the acquisition of Karny.ma, a Moroccan ledger book that had more than fifty thousand active users, the Morocco-based B2B E-commerce startup Chari announces the closing of a bridge round led by the Saudi-based venture capital fund Khwarizmi Ventures (KV), AirAngels (Airbnb Alumni Investors), and Afri Mobility, the venture capital arm of AKWA Group.
Founded by Sophia Alj and Ismael Belkhayat in January 2020, Chari recently graduated from the Y Combinator Summer 21 batch. Chari is a B2B e-commerce and FinTech startup that digitizes the largely fragmented FMCG sector in French-Speaking Africa. By using Chari’s app, traditional convenience stores in Morocco and Tunisia can order all the products they need and receive them in less than 24 hours.
As recorded in our State of Startup Funding-Emerging Venture Markets 2022 Free report released just this morning, the E-commerce sector across EVMs observed a 97% YoY growth in funding in 2021. Despite this growth percentage being rather conservative relative to other leading sectors like T&L (460% YoY) and FinTech (549% YoY), the second-highest number of deals per industry were closed by E-commerce startups, while the sector climbed two ranks last year to become the third-most funded sector in MENA over 2021. The E-commerce sector in MENA observed a 235% YoY growth in funding over 16% more deals in 2021 than the full year 2020. The resurgence of investor appetite towards E-commerce ventures was driven by common trends across MENA and EVMs including the rise of B2B E-commerce. Amongst the many E-commerce ventures raising sizable investments including Eyewa, Nejree, and OpenSooq, it was B2B E-commerce ventures including Sary, Capiter, MaxAB, Talabeyah, and Sle3ti that took center stage in 2021
Catch the Early-bird Access to our suite of full-year reports. Get on the list
The recent acquisition of the credit book app Karny.ma gave Chari valuable data on the loans given by grocery stores to their customers. This allows Chari to credit-assess the unbanked shop owners and determine the most fitting payment terms given to each. ‘Chari will use the money of this bridge round to test the BNPL services with its existing customers. Upon successful results, Chari will acquire a local credit company to enable shop owners to lend money to their end-users and further grow their business’ announced Ismael Belkhayat CEO of Chari and Cornell University Alumni.
This bridge round allows Khwarizmi Ventures, Air Angels, and AKWA Group to join the existing cap table of Chari that includes Y Combinator, Rocket Internet, Global Founders Capital, Plug n Play, Orange Ventures, and P1 Ventures among other strategic regional and global investors. ‘Sophia and Ismael are visionary leaders that always make everyone around them think bigger every time they speak with them. We believe that under their leadership Chari will help in improving the lives of millions in Africa through simplified financial solutions. We are proud of their mission and delighted to join their adventure’ concluded Abdulaziz al-Turki, Managing Partner at Khwarizmi Ventures.
Check out with a cart full of insight. Browse 1,500+ E-commerce startups in MENA