Cartona, an Egyptian startup that digitizes and empowers mom-and-pop stores, hotels, restaurants, cafés, FMCG companies, and wholesalers, has secured a US$8.1 million debt and equity Series A extension round to fuel its growth in the domestic and international markets.
Algebra Ventures was the lead investor in the funding round. Silicon Badia and the SANAD Fund for MSME are also existing investors.
Cartona’s equity capital of US$5.6 million is intended to further accelerate growth in its various verticals, such as FMCG and HORECA, as well as to expand its market share, establish a solid foundation for regional expansion into new large markets in the MENA region, and investigate exciting potential B2B2C opportunities.
The round also includes US$2.5 million in debt capital from prominent debt providers, including GlobalCorp and Camel Ventures.
Cartona is a B2B e-commerce marketplace that was founded in August 2020. Its primary objective is to address the supply chain and operational challenges of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry by digitizing the traditional, primarily offline, trade market.
The startup provides a marketplace that is asset-light and allows grocery retailers to digitally acquire their store necessities from a curated network of sellers. It serves over 3,000 consumers, has a presence in 17 Egyptian cities, and has 188,000 retailers on its platform.
“We are delighted to complete a Series A extension – which we have done from a position of strength. Our operational and financial metrics are all progressing very positively which has helped us to attract capital from existing and new investors,” said Mahmoud Talaat, CEO and co-founder of Cartona.
“We are committed to delivering our strategy which includes transforming the traditional trade market and creating value for all stakeholders in the marketplace. Our product rollout, verticals, and offerings will continue to grow as will our penetration of the Egyptian market. We have an exciting future ahead, replicating the successful execution of our business model in other regional markets – all making trading as easy and accessible as possible for retailers and suppliers,” Talaat added.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Educatly, an Egyptian edtech company, has raised $2.5 million in a new funding round.
i’SUPPLY, a pharmaceutical startup based in Egypt, has secured a pre-Series A funding round
Sahl, an Egyptian utility payment startup, has secured $6 million in funding