Moroccan B2B e-commerce And Fintech Platform Chari Secures $12M Series A Funding to Drive Merchant Digitization
Chari, a Moroccan B2B e-commerce and fintech startup transforming traditional retail through technology, has announced the successful completion of its $12 million Series A funding round.
The round was co-led by SPE Capital and Orange Ventures. Other participants include Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, Plug and Play, Endeavor Catalyst and Pincus Capital.
This achievement marks the largest Series A round ever raised by a Moroccan startup, highlighting growing investor confidence in the country’s digital commerce ecosystem.
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Chari’s co-founder Ishmael Belkhayat who expressed excitement about the milestone, in a post on Linkedin disclosed that the funding will fuel the startup’s mission to empower local merchants through technology.
He wrote,
“I am excited to announce that Chari has raised $12M in Series A funding, co-led by SPE Capital and Orange Ventures — the largest Series A ever raised by a startup in Morocco. This milestone fuels our mission to empower local merchants through technology — transforming everyday grocery stores and retailers into fully connected, digital businesses.
“With this investment, we’ll accelerate the development of our super-app for merchants and scale our Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform, opening our infrastructure to startups looking to embed financial solutions directly into their products. A huge thank-you to our investors, partners, and team for believing in our vision and for helping us redefine how commerce and finance connect across Morocco.”
Also commenting, Chari’s co-founder and COO Sophia Alj said,
“We are building a BaaS platform to power the next generation of digital finance. This investment will help us strengthen our infrastructure and support partners seeking to embed fintech into their products. We are also proud to build our own use case by enabling traditional retailers to access and offer seamless financial services”.
Ryosuke Yamawaki partner at Verod Kepple Africa Ventures, noted that Chari’s focus on empowering local merchants via a tech-first scalable platform resonates deeply with the company’s thesis, hence the reason for the investment.
Chari is a B2B e-commerce and fintech platform designed to empower traditional retailers (often called “mom-and-pop” or proximity stores) in French-speaking African countries. Founded in 2020 by Ismael Belkhayat (CEO, ex-BCG) and Sophia Alj (COO), the startup is headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco, with over 185 employees.
Chari is backed by Y Combinator (YC S21 batch the first Moroccan startup to join) and focuses on digitizing informal retail by combining fast product delivery with embedded financial services. Independent retailers are at the heart of Chari’s strategy with tailored services designed to meet their unique needs.
Key Features and Services
Chari’s mobile app serves as a one-stop super app for small merchants, enabling:
– E-commerce Functionality: Retailers can order fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) like groceries, household items, and other products they resell. Deliveries are promised within 24 hours (often free), sourced from a digital marketplace of suppliers. This helps traditional stores compete with modern retail chains.
– Fintech Integration:
– Microloans and working capital (using data from acquisitions like Karny, a credit book app, to assess unbanked merchants).
– Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) APIs for other fintechs, e-commerce platforms, and enterprises to embed financial tools without building them from scratch.
– Merchant Tools: Balance checks, supplier payments, and inventory management to streamline operations.
Chari primarily operates in Morocco (where it covers over 50% of proximity stores in Casablanca), with expansions to Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire (via the 2022 acquisition of Diago, an Ivory Coast-based app).
The platform targets underserved informal retailers, who make up a significant portion of Africa’s economy, by turning local shops into points of sale for both goods and services. It serves 25,000+ retailers across these countries, focusing on French-speaking Africa. In October 2025, Chari became the first VC-backed startup in Morocco to receive a payment institution license from Bank Al-Maghrib, unlocking full financial services like transfers and payments.
The latest funding will fuel the super app build-out and BaaS expansion, aiming to integrate more financial services and grow regionally.
