Connecting retailers to suppliers can be cumbersome. However, with digitisation, the distribution process has been made seamless. In several simple steps, retailers can easily be connected to a wide range of suppliers or manufacturers.
This is perhaps why investors and venture capitals are investing heavily in the B2B eCommerce marketplace in Egypt. Recently, an Egyptian B2B e-commerce marketplace raised $33 million in a Series A round. Others like Fatura and MaxAB with the same business model have previously raised funding.
To further enhance the user experience and introduce embedded finance within the product and order cycle, Cartona, another B2B e-commerce marketplace in Egypt has closed a $4.5 million funding led by Global Ventures, a Dubai-based investment company.
Also participating in the round are Kepple Africa Ventures, T5 Ventures and a group of angel investors.
Since the launch of the startup last year, Cartona has attracted over 30,000 users in Cairo and Alexandria alone. It has processed over 400,000 delivered orders with an annualised gross merchandise value of EGP 1 billion. Cartona works with 100 FMCG companies, 1,000 distributors and wholesalers, offering consumers over 10,000 products listed on its platform including dry, fresh and frozen food.
Mahmoud Talaat, CEO and Co-founder of Cartona, said: “Small and medium retailers deserve the opportunity to operate their businesses efficiently while delivering growth simultaneously. To do so, they need access to credit, inventory and payment services. We are dedicated to empowering the B2B ecosystem through technology and supply chain innovation. Cartona is committed to building a strong network of digitally connected retailers that have better control over their businesses through running a seamless daily operation”
Mahmoud Abdel-Fattah, CTO and Co-founder of Cartona, said: “It is time to capitalise on technology beyond warehouses and trucks. Data and technology will transform traditional retail to a digitally-native one, which in return will drastically improve the supply chain efficiency.”
Basil Moftah, General Partner at Global Ventures, said: “We are really excited to lead this investment round in Cartona. The trade market is one of the most sophisticated, yet characterised by multiple critical inefficiencies across the value chain. Cartona’s asset-light approach tackles those inefficiencies by optimising the trade process in unique ways and does so with minimal capital spent. The company has already demonstrated consistently stellar growth over the past year. We are thrilled to partner with the company’s solid, highly capable and experienced founding team on their third entrepreneurial journey”.
