Mazaya, Egypt's E-Commerce Startup Receives $5M in Pre-Seed Funding Round to Expand
Mazaya, an Egyptian foremost B2B e-commerce marketplace focused on electronics appliances, has secured $5 million in Raya Trade & Distribution, a subsidiary of Raya Holding for Financial Investments-led pre-seed to scale its operations in Egypt and expand into new markets and verticals.
The e-commerce startup enables retailers and merchants of electronic goods and home appliances to efficiently procure inventory for their stores from all major brands at competitive prices via the Mazaya App, as well as access to value-added services. Mazaya has worked with over 6,000 retailers, fulfilled 30,000 orders with a gross merchandise value of $15 million, and currently has over 1,000 SKUs on the platform since its launch in Egypt in 2021.
Giving reason for leading the investment round, Bassem Megahed, CEO of Raya Trade and Distribution said “As leaders in the fields of trade and distribution over the years, we are proud to invest in this ambitious platform that revolutionized the industry by providing the highest level of services to merchants in collaboration with their success partners. The platform conveniently supports merchants, particularly small merchants who do not receive adequate services, with the ability to scale their business through a superior level of service and a wide range of electronic devices from all international and local brands at the click of a button.”
Also, Amir Aboul Fotouh, Mazaya, Co-Founder and Head of operations at Mazaya said “We are humbled and excited to continue transforming the electronics distribution business and value chain while empowering all retailers and merchants. We are also thrilled to have strategic investors with extensive experience in electronics retail, distribution, and logistics, such as Raya. The funds raised will allow us to quickly scale our operations and expand to other markets beyond Egypt; we have plans to launch our services in Nigeria before this year-end.”
The State of the Egyptian E-Commerce Sector
Moreover, according to Statista, revenue in Egypt’s e-commerce market is expected to reach $7.74 billion this year and grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 19% between 2022 and 2025.
Furthermore, the sector is rapidly expanding as online services have grown in importance; particularly for merchants and traders to facilitate their business needs because orders are processed digitally, allowing for greater buying efficiency and effectiveness. Many businesses are opting for installment purchases due to the rising cost of electronics. The demand for buying electronics in installments has skyrocketed, with mobile phone and electronic device installments in Egypt totaling $251million during the first five months of 2022, according to the Financial Regulatory Authority.
Mazaya intends to offer financial services and support to their retailers to help them scale their businesses by providing various credit facilities and flexible payment terms based on their payment history, as well as making it easier for them to manage their finances by providing collection and payment services. Mazaya will continue to provide enhanced and effective services to retailers and merchants to help them facilitate and grow their businesses, to position Egypt as a leading technology hub.