Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), an investment firm based in Nigeria, has announced its intention to invest $1.5 million in Chari, a Moroccan B2B e-commerce company.

This investment is also coming on the heels of an earlier undisclosed funding in May where Chari raised additional funding from 'Plug and Play.'

The investment aims to support Chari's growth plans and contribute to the development of its advanced financial services infrastructure. As part of the investment deal, Ryosuke (Rio) Yamawaki, Partner at VKAV, will assume the role of Strategic Advisor to Chari.

Chari operates a B2B e-commerce platform that provides grocery stores with services, including free product delivery.

Informal retail shops play a crucial role in Morocco's Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) trade, accounting for more than 80% of total transactions. However, companies operating in this space face operational challenges, such as inefficiencies caused by intermediaries, a lack of digitization, and limited access to trade finance.

Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and Co-founder of Chari expressed his excitement about the partnership with VKAV, stating,

We are thrilled to have VKAV as our partner as we establish a cutting-edge and fundamental financial services infrastructure for the mass market in our country. With VKAV's extensive network across Africa and profound connections with the Japanese corporate society, we believe they will consistently bring value to our endeavours.

Ryosuke (Rio) Yamawaki, Partner at VKAV, emphasized the firm's focus on investing in African start-ups that redefine their respective categories. He stated,

Chari is uniquely positioned to transform the informal retail sector and redefine the category of informal trade in Africa. We firmly believe that their innovative approach will benefit the local market and serve as a showcase to the rest of the world.

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Chari has emerged as one of the most successful and promising start-ups in Morocco. In 2023, it was recognized as one of the fastest-growing businesses in Africa. The company established its first warehouse in Casablanca in January 2020 and expanded its operations by opening a second warehouse in Tangier in the fourth quarter of 2021.

As of March 2022, the Tangier and Casablanca warehouses were serving over 15,000 grocery stores along Morocco's North Atlantic coast. In 2022, Chari further enhanced its services by acquiring Karny.ma, a credit record service used in over 50,000 sales points across Morocco. The company also operates a dedicated customer service office in Casablanca, employing a team of over a hundred agents.

In line with its ambitious growth strategy, Chari solidified its position in the retail sector of Francophone Africa through the acquisition of Diago, an Ivorian retail app, in June 2022. This acquisition followed three previous deals, including a significant $22 million agreement for Axa Credit.