Cartona, a B2B platform digitizing and empowering stakeholders of Egypt’s traditional trade market – including mom-and-pop stores, hotels, restaurants, cafes, FMCG companies, and wholesalers – has completed an $8.1 million Series A extension fundraise. The round was led by Algebra Ventures, an Egyptian tech venture capital firm, with Cartona’s existing investors, Silicon Badia and the SANAD Fund for MSME, also participating.
Equity capital of $5.6 million is earmarked to further accelerate growth in Cartona’s different verticals, including FMCG and HORECA; grow its market share; establish firm foundations for regional expansion into new large markets in MENA; and explore B2B2C opportunities.
This round includes $2.5 million in debt capital from Camel Ventures and GlobalCorp as part of Cartona’s strategy to have diversified sources of capital. The debt will help in fulfilling working capital needs for local retailers.
Cardona said it has north of 188,000 retailers on the platform and a presence in 17 Egyptian cities with a growing market share. It cites key features such as allowing small retailers to pool orders and unlocking access to finance .
“We are delighted to complete a Series A extension – which we have done from a position of strength,” co-founder and CEO Mahmoud Talaat said. “Our operational and financial metrics are all progressing very positively which has helped us to attract capital from existing and new investors.
“We are committed to delivering our strategy, which includes transforming the traditional trade market and creating value for all stakeholders in the marketplace. Our product rollout, verticals and offerings will continue to grow as will our penetration of the Egyptian market. We have an exciting future ahead, replicating the successful execution of our business model in other regional markets – all making trading as easy and accessible as possible for retailers and suppliers.”
“Cartona has built an exceptionally capital-efficient model that has allowed it to deliver on strong growth and profitability, even during economic headwinds,” Algebra Ventures’ general partner Omar Khashaba added. “The asset-light nature of its model creates scalable infrastructure that can quickly be adapted for entry into new markets and adjacencies. Cartona has also been a driving force for financial inclusion in the retail sector as more and more of its small merchants take advantage of inventory financing options.”
“Mahmoud is an incredible operator and seamlessly blends deep domain expertise in the retail sector with a willingness to leverage technology to rewrite the playbook. The team’s core focus on profitability, even when capital was cheap, helped establish credibility in debt discussions with banks and NBFIs. We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with Mahmoud and his team and believe it will go all the way.”
Cartona empowers the traditional retail market to be more efficient by streamlining the distribution process – directly connecting retailers with wholesalers, suppliers and FMCGs.
Retailers can better manage stock and working capital via cash or credit orders – improving profit margins. Cartona’s proprietary technology can be fully integrated with retailers and suppliers for ordering, inventory management, branding, embedded finance, ledger and tax.