Egyptian ExpandCart closes $2.7m pre-Series B round

Cairo-based e-Commerce startup builder ExpandCart has announced it raised $2.7m in a pre-Series B bridge funding round, led by Hong Kong-based Betatron Venture Group with participation from existing investors: Sawari Ventures from Egypt, and Agility Ventures from Kuwait.

ExpandCart is the fastest growing Arabic eCommerce platform in the Middle East launched in 2013 by the trio of Amr Shawqy, Sameh Nabil, and Yasser seleem.

ExpandCart is currently preparing to kick start its new financing round, which will be dedicated to new market expansion, and developing a comprehensive ecosystem of commerce products and solutions that will help the company acquire new segments of merchants with business needs that go beyond just a traditional online store.

Amr Shawqy, Co-founder ExpandCart CEO, spoke on the growth in the region while also pointing out ExpandCart’s service focus.

“E-commerce growth has been impressive in the Middle East, and we are proud to be one of the leading players to help millions of businesses go online. With this round, we are committed to being more customer-centric than ever, to build top-class operations, and we will continue to focus on creating the most comprehensive suite of products to help our merchants succeed,” said Shawqy.

Matthias Knobloch, the Managing Partner of Betatron Venture Group, said, “We have been working with Amr and the team at ExpandCart ever since January 2019 and were part of their Pre-A investment round. We’re incredibly excited about the prospect of the e-commerce market in the region and believe ExpandCart will be at the forefront of driving its growth. The Pre-B round will allow the company to further accelerate its business development and set the stage for a larger Series B in 2022.”

Ahmed El Alfi, Co-Founder & Chairman of Sawari Ventures, added, “We are happy to continue supporting ExpandCart alongside a strong set of partner investors who, collectively, believe in the growth potential of ExpandCart and the e-commerce market regionally. We are confident in ExpandCart’s ability to remain a leader in the region by offering services to merchants who have diverse and specific needs to grow their companies.

The startup intends to use the new round of funding is set to fuel ExpandCart growth in current markets while focusing on maximizing R&D, technology building, and new products to ambitiously enable 1 million merchants within the next three years across the Mena region.