Orange Venture Invests in Moroccan Startup, Chari

Middle East and Africa-focused Venture Capitalist (VC) Orange Ventures has made a new investment into Morocco-based e-commerce startup, Chari. According to the startup the VC has been in its support before the funding.

VC made an investment of $ 1 million into the B2B e-commerce and B2B platform. This investment supports Chari’s mission to create an evolution in the Moroccan supply chain industry. Meanwhile, Chai is also entrenched in financing for the FMCG sector.

Founded in 2020 by  Sophia Alj and Ismael Belkhayat, Chari is a subsidiary of HnS Invest Holding a family-holding business that helps and sponsors startups dealing with logistics such as distribution. Chari provides small and micro businesses in the supply chain industry with access to a mobile platform that enables them to request supplies via order placement. The Chari tool is easy to navigate therefore users can receive their order within the next 24 hours. The startup has so far unboarded about 20,000 food merchants in Morocco.

In line with the funding process, Orange Venture partner both in the Middle East and Africa, Grégoire de Padirac, will also be joining the e-commerce startup Supervisory Board.

While speaking about the investment, Chari’s CEO and Co-founder, Ismael Belkhayat, stated “Being supported by Orange Ventures since the beginning of our quest is a source of pride for us. The Orange group’s distribution know-how and skills are extremely beneficial to us. We intend to grow into the nations in which Orange operates.“

Chari’s Grégoire de Padirac also said “We are delighted to have been among the first investors in the Chari adventure, and we look forward to continuing to support the team as it expands into the French-speaking region and the fintech sector. We and Chari believe in the need to digitise local company owners.”