Morocco B2B e-commerce startup Chari secures $1.5 million to expand across Africa

​Chari, a Morocco-based B2B e-commerce startup with embedded financing for the FMCG sector, has secured $1.5 million in funding from Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) to support its growth plan across Africa.

Founded in 2020 by husband and wife team Ismael and Sophia Belkhayat, Chari allows traditional proximity store owners in Morocco to order products and have them delivered. The startup has boarded over 20,000 food businesses in Morocco and expanded into Tunisia and Ivory Coast.

The startup just made history by being the first VC-backed startup to be granted a payment licence by the Moroccan Central Bank.

Plug and Play Backs Moroccan Startup Chari in Series A Funding

Moroccan e-commerce startup Chari has secured a second round of funding from Plug and Play, a Silicon Valley-based innovation network. The funding which is part of the startup’s closed Series A round was not disclosed. Chari connects small-scale retailers to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufa…

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The startup, which was a part of the Y Combinator S21 cohort, raised $5 million in a seed round in late 2021 and received more funding in January of the following year. It announced follow-on funding from Plug and Play in June 2023 after raising an additional $1 million from Orange Ventures, Orange's venture capital investment arm, in February 2023.

With a clear vision to dominate the region and develop additional services, Chari has already established itself as the top B2B e-commerce platform for FMCG products in Morocco. These services will give the company opportunities to expand its market share and develop new revenue streams, such as embedded fintech.