Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform Fatura, which connects FMCG wholesalers to retailers and a digital lending platform for small merchants, has raised a seven-figure US dollar seed round to help it scale.
Founded by Hossam Ali, Ahmed Anwar and AbdAllah Mohebeldin, who were later joined by Ahmed Al Bakary, Fatura was established to meet the demand of FMCG retailers by providing a simple-to-use mobile application that allows them to access a network of carefully vetted wholesalers.
The startup leverages the underutilised assets already owned by wholesalers and uses technology to resolve existing supply chain inefficiencies for all relevant stakeholders including retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. In addition to the one-stop-shop offering of more than 1,500 available SKUs, Fatura is on its way to offer working capital loans to its retailers, leveraging the data derived from transactions to analyse retailers’ behaviour and credit worthiness.
Fatura’s objective is to become the largest e-wholesaler in Egypt and Africa, and it has been boosted in its pursuit of this goal having raised a seven-figure seed funding round led by Disruptech, Egypt’s first fintech-focused VC Fund, with the participation of EFG EV and Cairo Angels.
“Egypt has more than 5,000 wholesalers, investing heavily to build another one will not solve the existing inefficiencies at scale. This capital-intensive approach never made sense to us in light of the Egyptian market’s realities. Alternatively, we are on a mission to curate a network of 200-250 wholesalers across the country, digitally transform the way they work, and enable them to collectively lead the FMCG distribution business nationally,” said Hossam Ali, Fatura’s co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO).
Mohamed Okasha, Disruptech’s managing partner, said his firm was excited to lead Fatura’s investment round.
“We firmly believe in the opportunity that lies in the digitisation of the wholesale-retail relationship. Disruptech sees Fatura playing an essential role to transform the market and we are committed to helping Fatura achieve its mission,” he said.
Zeina Mandour, general manager of the Cairo Angels, said she was pleased to have closed this investment round and to have co-invested with other local investors.
“We are very confident in the Fatura team. We have no doubt that they will use this seven-figure investment to scale and provide their services throughout all of Egypt,” she said.
