Sudanese Marketplace Platform alsoug secures $5M from Fawry
Sudan’s largest online classifieds platform and marketplace, alsoug, has announced it secured $5m from Egypt’s leading provider of e- payments solutions and digital banking services Fawry.
alsoug was founded in 2016 by a world-class team of technology entrepreneurs, and has now grown to become Sudan’s leading consumer internet platform and its largest digital marketplace.
alsoug is one of Sudan’s most downloaded apps on the Google Play app store with two million downloads and is a platform where sellers can list everything from real estate and cars to services and commodities.
The investment from Fawry means the firm has acquired a strategic minority stake in the alsoug.com/Cashi holding company, marking the Company’s first venture capital investment outside of its Egyptian home market.
Fawry aims to help the alsoug expand in scale, enhancing the platform’s merchant acquisition operation using its long track record with white label technology solutions.
Fawry also intends to refine alsoug’s market approach by providing valuable insights that inform high-level strategy across all segments of the business.
Fawry’s CEO Eng. Ashraf Sabry speaking on the investment said: “We’re delighted to be kicking off our partnership with alsoug, one of Sudan’s most exciting prospects and a Sudanese leader in tech innovation.
“This is our first investment foray outside of Egypt in our thirteen years of operation, and we’re confident that our story with alsoug and Cashi will be a special one.
“Fawry’s investment in alsoug delivers on our plans to venture into underserved international markets by leveraging our technology and teaming up with strong local players”.
alsoug co-founder and CEO Tarneem (Nina) Saeed also added that the funding from Fawry is a significant one as the startup now looks to further expansion.
“This investment marks a significant milestone not just for alsoug, but for the nascent tech space in Sudan as a whole, which has until today been essentially shut out of the global capital markets.
“I hope this investment is the first of many and that the huge potential of the tech sector in Sudan is fully realized in the coming years.
“We are looking forward to working with Fawry, and our new strategic shareholders, to continue our expansion from the classifieds and marketplace space into payments. We will build a payments platform that will deliver financial inclusion to all Sudanese,” said Saeed.
The investment will be used to provide alsoug the opportunity to expand its footprint into Africa.