Chari

Endeavor Catalyst Invests $1M in Moroccan E-Commerce Startup, Chari

Blessed Frank

Sep 30, 2022 • 1 min read

Endeavor Catalyst, an investment fund, and subsidiary of the global Endeavor network has announced a $1 million investment in Chari, a Moroccan e-commerce one-stop shop.

Confirming the investment from Endeavor Catalyst, which has been operating in Morocco since 2014, Ismael Belkhayat, founder and CEO of Chari, stated, “It is a positive indication to see that known foreign investment funds are interested in Moroccan businesses.” This bodes well for the Moroccan startup ecosystem’s quick take-off.”

Ismael Belkhayat, who co-founded Chari with Sophia Alj in 2020, added, “It is a privilege to welcome Endeavor Catalyst among our investors.” Y Combinator, Orange, Rocket Internet, and Harvard University’s management fund are among the new investors in Endeavor Catalyst.

More specifically, Endeavor Catalyst’s investment is part of Chari’s Serie A fundraising. This funding will allow the e-commerce startup to consolidate its continental expansion and begin its shift to fintech by financing the acquisition of the firm, Axa Credit, once it receives the central bank’s approval.

Furthermore, Chari was already included in the Endeavor network’s list of “outliers” companies at the start of 2022, which are the 10% of Endeavor companies with the strongest growth and the greatest impact on their communities. it is also worthy of a mention that Endeavor Catalyst has so far invested in over fifty unicorns worldwide, including Glovo, Flutterwave, Brex, Cabify, and Checkout.

Chari, an e-commerce platform designed for local grocery stores in the Francophone African countries secured a bridge round in January of this year, raising its valuation to $100 million. This year has also seen the completion of several acquisitions. It paid an undisclosed sum for the acquisition of the Ivorian retail startup, Diago in June 2022, after acquiring Axa Credit for $22 million in March.

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