Four entities recently placed equity in Cartona, a virtual marketplace connecting Egyptian food wholesalers and distributors, for the first time: US-based Silicon Badia; Sanad Fund for MSME, which was founded by Germany’s KfW Development Bank to invest in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); Jordan-based Arab Bank Accelerator; and Egypt-based Sunny Side Venture Partners. Silicon Badia led the funding round, which totaled USD 12 million and included participation from ongoing Cartona investors UAE-based Global Ventures and Japan-based Kepple Ventures.
Cartona plans the new capital to allow the firm to expand its platform to reach more MSMEs in Egypt. It also expects to improve the platform with support from Sanad’s Technical Assistance Facility. Founded in 2019, the firm has enabled 60,000 retailers to buy 14,000 products to date from 1,500 suppliers in 11 cities in Egypt.
Established in 2011, Silicon Badia invests equity in technology startups. As of 2022, the company has investments in about 80 companies in 15 countries.
Sanad is a Luxembourg-domiciled vehicle investing “debt and equity finance to partner institutions in the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa to support growth and employment creation” among MSMEs. As of 2022, it reports a debt portfolio of USD 349 million and an equity portfolio of USD 27 million. Sanad is funded by five government-backed institutions and five private entities.
Sadaharu Saiki founded Sunny Side Venture Partners in Egypt in 2022.
The Arab Bank Accelerator was founded in 2018 by Jordan’s Arab Bank to support financial technology firms in the Middle East and North Africa. It works with seven companies as of 2022.
Global Ventures invests in companies in emerging markets with a focus on social impact.
Established in 2019, Kepple Ventures invests in startups in Africa. As of 2022, it has investments in 103 companies across 11 countries.
By Ben Greissman, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Magnit article
https://magnitt.com/news/cartona-12m-series-a-53565
Sanad press release
https://sanad.lu/latest-updates/sanad-acquires-shares-in-the-egyptian-b2b-platform-cartona-to-empower-egyptian-msmes-through-digital-growth
Cartona homepage
https://cartona.com
Silicon Badia homepage
https://www.siliconbadia.com
Arab Bank Accelerator homepage
https://www.abaccelerator.co
Global Ventures homepage
https://www.global.vc
Kepple Ventures homepage
https://kepple-africa-ventures.com
LinkedIn profile on Sunny Side Venture Partners founder Sadaharu Saiki
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadaharu-saiki-703b2a170/
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