Chari recently announced the closure of a bridge round led by the Saudi-based venture capital fund Khwarizmi Ventures (KV), AirAngels (Airbnb Alumni Investors), and Afri Mobility, the venture capital arm of AKWA Group, in order to take a meaningful step into the fintech space.
“Chari will use the money of this bridge round to test the BNPL services with its existing customers. 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”, announced Ismael Belkhayat CEO of Chari and Cornell University Alumni.
Chari is a B2B e-commerce and fintech startup in French-speaking Africa that digitises the extremely fragmented FMCG market. Traditional convenience stores in Morocco and Tunisia can order all of the supplies they need using Chari’s app and have them delivered in less than 24 hours.
Chari was founded in January 2020 by Sophia Alj and Ismael Belkhayat and just graduated from the Y Combinator Summer 21 cohort. Chari announced a USD 5 million seed round in October 2021, along with the acquisition of Karny.ma, a Moroccan ledger book with over 50,000 active users.
Chari recently acquired the credit book app Karny.ma, which provided her with vital information on the loans issued to clients by grocery businesses. This enables Chari to assess the unbanked shop owners’ creditworthiness and select the most appropriate payment arrangements for them.
“Sophia and Ismael are visionary leaders that always make everyone around them think bigger every time they speak with them. 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”, said Abdulaziz Al-Turki, Managing Partner at Khwarizmi Ventures.
Khwarizmi Ventures, Air Angels, and AKWA Group have joined Chari’s existing cap table, which includes Y Combinator, Rocket Internet, Global Founders Capital, Plug n Play, Orange Ventures, Harvard University Management Company, Village Capital, P1 Ventures, and others.