Saudi Arabia's Khwarizmi Ventures completes funding for Moroccan start-up, Chari

Chari, a Moroccan FinTech start-up company, raised a bridge round of $100 million in funding, according to a press release from Wamda, a publication dedicated to accelerating entrepreneurship ecosystems throughout the MENA region.

As a result of the fresh funds, the Casablanca-based company will expand its product portfolio and enter new markets. Whenever a start-up requires additional capital between two rounds of funding, it goes through a bridge-finance round to keep it afloat until the next, larger round of funding is available.

Khwarizmi Ventures, a Saudi Arabian venture capital firm, AirAngels (Airbnb alumni investors), and Afri Mobility, a Moroccan conglomerate company’s venture capital arm, led the undisclosed funding round.

“Chari will use the money of this bridge round to test the BNPL [buy now pay later] services with its existing customers,” said Ismael Belkhayat, Chief executive and co-founder of Chari.

“Upon successful results, Chari will acquire a local credit company to enable shop owners to lend money to their end-users and further grow their business,” Belkhayat said.

In January 2020, Chari established its business-to-business e-commerce and FinTech company that will digitize the fragmented and rapidly growing consumer goods sector in the French-speaking African nations.

Traditional convenience stores in Morocco and Tunisia can now access products ordered through Chari’s app and have them delivered in less than 24 hours, the Company said.

Startups in the FinTech sector attract significant investments from both local and regional organizations, making it one of the most active sectors in finance. As digital payments continue to grow, there is a huge opportunity for more services to enter the market.

FinTech accounted for a third of all investment deals in the Middle East in 2021, generating $2.1 billion in 220 deals, according to a report by consultancy firm RedSeer.

Y Combinator, an American startup accelerator, recently graduated Chari, a technology start-up that raised $5 million in October. The company also acquired the Moroccan ledger book “Karny.ma,” which had more than 50,000 thousand active users.

Chari obtained valuable information on grocery store loans to their customers from this acquisition. By using the software, the start-up can assess and determine the payment terms most suitable to the unbanked shop owners, according to the company.

According to Abdulaziz Al Turki, managing partner at Khwarizmi Ventures, the founders are “visionary leaders” that inspire everyone around them to think bigger.

“We believe that under their leadership, Chari will help in improving the lives of millions in Africa through simplified financial solutions. We are proud of their mission and delighted to join their adventure,” Al Turki added.

The company has further plans to expand its operations in more francophone countries, i.e. nations where French is an official language or where a majority of the population speaks French. Chari is currently in discussions with various companies to increase both their offerings and customer base.

“We will announce a geographic expansion in the coming days … and after that, we are looking to raise a $30 million Series A in the next months at a valuation between $150 million and $200 million,” Belkhayat said.

“Chari is already cash-flow positive as we have a negative working capital requirement,” he concluded.