Moroccan Startup Chari Secures $12m in Series A Funding to Power Retail and BaaS Growth

Moroccan startup Chari secures $12m in series A funding to power retail and BaaS growth. This is an exciting step for Chari, a company that helps small shop owners in Morocco grow their businesses by using technology.

Chari started in 2020, founded by Ismael Belkhayat and Sophia Alj. In the beginning, the company helped small retailers manage orders and deliveries online more easily. Now, it has grown a lot and offers more than just deliveries. Chari gives merchants credit and digital tools that make running their shops simpler.

Chari secures $12 million in series A funding from several big investors. The main leaders of this round are SPE Capital, a private equity firm from Tunisia, and Orange Ventures, which is part of a large global telecom company. Other investors like Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, Plug and Play, Endeavor Catalyst, and Pincus Capital also joined in.

Moroccan startup Chari secures $12m in series A funding

One major problem for Moroccan shop owners has been the complicated supply chains. Many have to deal with middlemen and use cash, which can be slow and hard to manage. Chari’s app helps small shops order goods directly and get them delivered fast. This cuts out the middlemen and makes business smoother.

With this new $12 million in funding, Chari wants to do even more. The company plans to add point-of-sale (POS) terminals so stores can handle payments easily. It will also create an online payment system and a bookkeeping app called Karny. This app will help shop owners keep track of customer credit. Plus, Chari will offer tools to manage sales and expenses. The app already lets users pay bills, recharge phones, and sell insurance, opening new chances for small shops to earn money.

Ismael Belkhayat said this investment will speed up Chari’s mission. He explained, “We are building a single platform that helps every small retailer manage purchases, payments, and financial services in one place.” This shows how Chari is focused on helping small businesses succeed with technology.

Moroccan startup Chari secures $12 million in series A funding to power retail and BaaS growth not just by helping shops but also by building new fintech services. The company is creating Morocco’s first Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. This means other companies can offer financial services by using Chari’s technology, without having to build it themselves.

Sophia Alj said, “We are building a BaaS platform to power the next generation of digital finance. The funding will help us improve our infrastructure and support other companies that want to add financial services to their products.” This move makes Chari much more than a retail app—it becomes an important tech partner for the whole financial industry.

Chari’s growth shows how small businesses are changing Africa’s digital scene. By mixing retail and fintech, the startup is helping many merchants join the digital economy for the first time. This mix of services is why big investors like SPE Capital and Orange Ventures find Chari so interesting.

Nabil Triki, Managing Partner at SPE Capital, said, “Chari’s model, which links merchant services with embedded finance, represents a major opportunity to create value in the region.” Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures also supports Chari’s focus on small businesses and sees great potential for Africa-wide growth.

Since its start, Chari has worked hard to improve logistics, credit services, and software. Now, with this $12 million Series A funding, it is ready to digitize Morocco’s large informal retail market even more and help other businesses with digital finance.

Overall, Moroccan startup Chari secures $12m in series A funding to power retail and BaaS growth, moving from a simple delivery app to a key player in both retail and fintech. This step will help many small shops and financial companies grow in Morocco and beyond. The future looks bright for Chari and the merchants it supports.

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