Y Combinator, one of the most important startup incubators in the world, has recently acquired 7% of the total shares of Morocco-based B2B e-commerce startup Chari.
The startup will participate in the accelerator’s 2021 summer program, joining important startups such as Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe, Twitch, Sendbird, Reddit, and Zapier, all of which made it through the program.
With a monthly growth rate of more than 10% and an expected 2021 turnover of more than $20 million, the startup is the first Maghrebian startup to join the accelerator’s portfolio. The startup already has received funding from firms like Plug and Play and Orange Digital Ventures.
Sophia Alj and Ismael Belkhayat founded Chari back in January of 2020 intending to offer digital solutions to the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry to connect store owners and retailers directly to wholesalers.
Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and co-founder of Chari, commented,
“It’s an honor for us to participate in the S21 batch of Y Combinator. With my co-founder, we will belong to the very closed circle of YC Alumni, allowing us to benefit from a global network of brilliantly successful startups. This will create a lot of value for our start-up.”
Y Combinator’s “summer batch of 2021” will take place from July to September of 2021, with the startup receiving the attention of over 1000 international Venture Capitalists during a “Demo Day” by the end of the program.
Back in 2020, Chari won the African Startup of the Year award from Orange, a French Telecom operator. The startup competed against the other 500 startups that participated in the competition.
Ever since its foundation, the Chari has partnered with more than 10,000 grocery stores in Morocco and several North African markets.
With offices in Morocco and Tunisia, the B2B e-commerce startup allows traditional retailers to order all the products resold in their shop, ensuring its delivery in less than 24 hours.
Source: https://gritdaily.com/y-combinator-invests-in-moroccan-b2b-e-commerce-startup-chari/