Egypt’s IoT devices manufacturer CardoO has raised $660,000 in a Seed funding round, led by The Alexandria Angels, with the participation of Sofico Investments, angel investors from Saudi Arabia, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The new investment will allow CardoO to improve its products, as well as enable local manufacturers to produce consumer electronics provided with IoT under the brand name CardoO.
Founded in 2018 by Ahmed Adel, CardoO aims to become the leading Arab brand that provides users with premium and price-effective smart devices that enhance their daily lives by facilitating access to the latest affordable consumer electronics and Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the hands of MENA consumers.
CardoO offers many products that meet the market needs through cardoo.co online sales, direct sales, and channel sales, in addition to retail sales, with existing products. VR “Virtual Reality Simulator”, Smart Watch, Wireless AirPods, Mobile game joysticks, CardoO i Note tablet for writing and drawing, CardoO smart scale.)
Ahmed Adel, CEO and founder of CardoO said, “We are excited to continue our journey in providing electronic devices and the Internet of Things. We are pleased to have strategic investors such as Alexandria Angel Network, Sofico Investments, and angel investors from Saudi Arabia, noting the role of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) in supporting us in attending entrepreneurship conferences, networking and outreach to investors and industry professionals, in addition to the support from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in the provision of infrastructure services and advisory services.”
The Emerging Technologies market is promising, especially since consumers in the Middle East and Africa spend about $25 billion annually on this market, while the middle class spends about $10 billion, and CardoO plans to acquire $200 million of market share in the next 5 years according to its strategic plan.
Adel added that this investment will allow his company to improve its products, introduce the first superior application in IoT, in addition to enabling local manufacturers to produce consumer electronics for the Internet of Things under the brand name “CardoO” and provide them with high-quality technologies for local markets to make Egypt an important hub for Consumer Electronics for the Internet of Things in emerging countries.
According to research and studies, every middle-class person in the Middle East and Africa owns an average of 3 smart devices, and it is expected that the average per capita ownership of smart devices in 2025 will reach 10 devices, up to 3 times the current market, so there is a large gap in the market IoT Consumer Electronics in the region, as this type of product is not available, and there is no clear vision for provision, or consumer awareness of its importance and how to benefit from it.
Adel said that although some consumer segments feel that consumer electronics supported by the Internet of Things are expensive, CardoO has signed several partnerships with local factories and international research and development centres to make the prices of their devices affordable for the middle class, and to support the local Egyptian industry, with plans to expand in emerging countries, he indicated that the company had recently launched 9 new smart devices, with sales of more than 100,000 different devices, in addition to the fact that the company was able to conclude several deals with major retailers in Egypt, and provide products in more than 1,000 branches across Egypt.
He stressed that the CardoO App is the first of its kind, as it is the first application specialized in “IoT” in the region, through which the user can control all smart “CardoO” products, and can also create different scenarios for the compatibility of devices with each other. He explained that the application is easy to use and compatible with all voice assistant devices (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and others) to ensure a seamless experience for users.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian startup CardoO recently signed a partnership with the electronic retail giant “Amazon” to offer its products through its platform, and it has a similar arrangement with other electronic selling sites, in addition to making deals with many institutions and consumer electronics distribution companies, and CardoO seeks to build a brand and a robust business, to become the first startup in the Middle East and Africa, in developing and publishing IoT Consumer Electronics, facilitating access to the latest innovations and smart products at reasonable prices that become accessible to users of the Arab region, in addition to aware them on how to use it, and benefit from it in their lives in general.
