Chari, a Moroccan startup backed by Y Combinator, has secured additional funding from DisrupTech Ventures, an Egyptian early-stage venture capital firm focused on fintech and digital infrastructure. This investment forms part of Chari’s Series A extension round, following its previously announced US$12 million Series A raise.
Founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife duo Ismael and Sophia Belkhayat, Chari is revolutionizing Morocco’s traditional retail sector by transforming thousands of informal corner shops into digitally enabled financial access points. The company’s mobile platform allows proximity store owners to order fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) directly from distributors with rapid delivery, while also embedding financial services into their daily operations.
To date, Chari has onboarded over 20,000 food retailers across Morocco and has expanded its footprint into Tunisia and Ivory Coast, signaling its ambition to become a pan-African fintech and retail infrastructure player.
Beyond logistics, Chari is tackling the informal economy’s financial inefficiencies by digitizing cash flows, offering instant working capital, and integrating insurance and payment solutions directly into its app. This approach not only improves operational efficiency for merchants but also promotes financial inclusion in underserved communities.
As part of the new investment, DisrupTech Ventures will join Chari’s board of directors, bringing strategic guidance and regional expertise to support the company’s growth and fintech vision.
Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and co-founder of Chari, commented:
We are delighted to welcome DisrupTech Ventures as a partner on our journey. With their backing, we are accelerating our mission to turn every corner shop into a financial access point. Together, we will continue to build technologies that drive financial inclusion and economic growth across Africa.
Mohamed Okasha, Managing Partner at DisrupTech Ventures, emphasized the transformative nature of Chari’s model:
Chari is redefining how financial services are delivered at the grassroots level. By empowering small shops to act as financial gateways, Chari is creating the foundation for a new, inclusive fintech infrastructure in Morocco. This is exactly the kind of transformative model we seek to support across Africa.
This strategic partnership highlights the growing convergence of retail and fintech in Africa, and the role of startups like Chari in building scalable, inclusive financial ecosystems across the continent.
