Morocco's Chari Receives $1.5 Million To Scale Its Growth

Morocco-based B2B e-commerce startup Chari has received a US$1.5 million investment from Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures ("VKAV")  to support its growth plan.

The investment will give the company the boost it needs to carry out its expansion strategies and build up its ground-breaking infrastructure for financial services for the general public. Through the partnership, Chari will be able to keep providing cutting-edge solutions, advancing Morocco's economy and highlighting the global potential of Africa's informal retail.

CEO and Co-founder of Chari, Ismael Belkhayat said, "We are thrilled to onboard VKAV as our partner as we establish a cutting-edge and fundamental financial services infrastructure for the mass market in our country. With VKAV's extensive network across Africa and profound connections with the Japanese corporate society, we believe they will consistently bring value to our endeavours."

Also, Partner at VKAV, Ryosuke (Rio) Yamawaki stated, "Chari is uniquely positioned to transform the informal retail sector and redefine the category of informal trade in Africa. We firmly believe that their innovative approach will benefit the local market and serve as a showcase to the rest of the world."

In addition to the investment, Ryosuke (Rio) Yamawaki has been appointed as a Strategic Advisor to Chari, to strengthen their commitment to revolutionizing the informal retail sector and driving economic growth in the region.

This is the third time Chari has raised investment this year. In February, Chari raised $1 million from Orange Ventures. The startup also received undisclosed funding from Plug and Play for the second time in May.

What is Chari?

Founded in 2020 by Ismael Belkhayat and Sophia Alj, Chari is an e-commerce platform that specializes in FMCG products, enabling retailers to purchase large quantities of inventory items directly from suppliers in Morocco and Francophone Africa. The platform offers products at lower prices that are delivered within 24 hours, helping FMCG brands to track their sales on the traditional trade.

Similarly, to other African nations, Morocco conducts the majority of its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) trade through unofficial retail stores, which today make up more than 80% of all FMCG trade. These crucial institutions do, however, experience operational inefficiencies as a result of the numerous intermediaries engaged, the lack of digitization, and the restricted availability of trade credit. By providing necessary goods and services more reasonably and effectively, Chari has emerged as a game-changer in this market, transforming the operations of informal retail stores.