Africa’s cross-border commerce platform, WaystoCap has expanded into logistic and local sales recently as well as expanding to two West African countries – Burkina Faso and Togo, the start-up confirmed to MENAbytes.
WaystoCap, which is a Y Combinator accelerator graduate, is an online platform for buyers and sellers of B2B goods in Africa. Founded in Casablanca, Morocco in 2014. The platform aims to digitize the centuries old cross-bordering trading industry that exists in the continent and also, make it easier for those outside of Africa to get into the region.
WaystoCap started initially with one category of Food and Beverages, the start-up now permits buying and selling of products between businesses in over ten categories. Their new services are part of their extension strategy and they compliment the marketplace.
According to the company’s co-founder, Nic Pantucci said that it gets the seller’s products into the market and then sell it locally in smaller quantities, after which it pays the seller.
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El Bassunie told TechCrunch that the company picked Benin, a country in West Africa, as a strategic location because “…lot of neighbouring land-locked countries go through there,” and that includes the lucrative Nigerian import industry.
“WaystoCap Local lets you sell your products locally. We’ll clear your product, handle sales and distribution, and make sure you get paid on time,” says the company on its website.
Any business anywhere in the world can use the service to sell their products in Benin and Burkina Faso with WaystoCap taking care of the entire process.
On the logistics service – WaystoCap Logistics – is available to all its users regardless of their geography, provides buyers and suppliers with the support they need to merchandise into and out of the continent.
“WaystoCap Logistics works with top shipping companies to make sure your cargo arrives on time, at competitive rates, as planned,” notes WaystoCap’s website.
The company graduated from YC’s accelerator program last year and later raised $3 million investment from YC, Battery Ventures, Endure Capital, Soma Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Amino Capital, Story Ventures, Lynett Capital, Neon Capital and 4DX LLC.