Algerian Startup Yassir Secures Series B Funding Of $150 million
Yassir, an Algerian startup, with expertise in the provision of e-commerce, telemedicine, reide-hailing and travel services, has revealed it success in securing a Series B funding to the tune of One hundred and Fifty million US dollars ($150 million).
According to the startup, the round was led by BOND, while it had the participation ofDorsal Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures,Y Combinator, DN Capital, and Quiet Capital. The VC leading the round, Bonb, has made significant investment in notable tech companies such as Airbnb, Spotify and Uber.
Yassir was launched in 2017 by Noureddine Tayebi. the startup began by providing last-mile delivery ans riade hailing services with the agenda to develop trust among users and at the same time granting them swift and easy financial services.
Whilst making its funding revelation in a interview with reporters, the startup founder gave insghit on its strategy adoption.
“When we first started, the observation was that most people were unbanked, and the number one reason is that people don’t trust the banking systems here for various reasons. We thought we could provide on-demand services that solve immediate needs around where people spend their money. We knew if we executed well, we could have a larger user base that subconsciously trusts us, which we felt was pertinent to offering payment services” Tayebi said.
Asides building users trust, Yassir’s delivery and ride-hialing services also operates as an outlet to propel the provision of financial services, a mini fintect outlet. Tayebi has previously explained in other interviews that his startups utilizes it delivery agents and drivers to encourage users use the Yassir wallet, via money deposit and merchant payment. Through this approach user Yassir has onboarded eight million (8 million) users to its plstform.
In addition, Tayebi explained that his team is just beginning as there are still more opportunities for developmenmt. “Although we like to consider ourselves as leaders in the Maghreb region, we’re just scratching the surface, and there’s still a lot of room to grow.”
The startup is intending to establish its expansion plans with the funds raised. Although it already has its presence in Algeria, Canada, France , Morroco and Tunisia, there are plans in motion to expand three times more than its current size and presence, both internally and externally.