Yassir, a transport and delivery startup that allows its clients to book drivers via a mobile app, will soon spread its net to Benin, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire. The Algiers-based company which is already present in France, Canada, and the Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco) and recently came to Senegal, will in the new markets compete against Gozem and the Russian Yango.
“It’s imminent, we should have launched operations by the end of June,” Noureddine Tayebi, Yassir’s CEO, told Jeune Afrique.
Yassir was founded in 2016 by Amel Delli, El Mahdi Yettou, Mustapha Baha, and Noureddine Tayebi. To date, it claims over 2 million users, and 40,000 partners, and covers 26 cities in the countries where it operates. Since its launch, the company raised $67.6 million from around 30 venture capitalists and renowned business angels who have proven themselves at Uber, Spotify, Revolut, and Gojek. The name Yassir is an Algerian Arabic wordplay between “easy” and “driving.”
Whether in Lomé, Cotonou, or Abidjan, Yassir wants to deploy its flagship services, transportation, and fast delivery.
Noureddine Tayebi, the Algerian boss of Yassir, lives in Silicon Valley. For the company’s next funding round, Tayebi eyes more than double the amount raised in its first round in October 2021. Last year, the startup raised, through two Series A rounds, $37 million (October) and $30 million (November), according to data from Crunchbase, consulted by Togo First. Investors included WndrCo, VentureSouq, Spike Venture, K50 Ventures, and the famous Y Combinator, which was among the first to back the project.
Beyond transport and delivery, Yassir also looks to conquer the financial services market.
“We are now introducing financial services to help our users pay, save and borrow digitally,” Noureddine Tayebi said.