MOROCCO – Moroccan retail-tech startup WafR, which helps retail brands to deliver promotions to grocers, has raised US$278,000 in funding as it aims to increase the number of grocers on its platform to 50,000 to better support FMCG brands.
Founded in 2021, WafR is an app that enables retail brands to broadcast and deliver smart promotions to grocers in order to increase their market share in the traditional channel.
The startup’s US$278,000 funding round, which values it at US$7.5 million, was secured from UM6P Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, and several other Moroccan and foreign international angels.
WafR will use the funds to expand its active grocer partner base from 12,000 to 50,000, to enable its FMCG partners to deliver smart promotions that help them gain more market share.
“Closing a major funding round in these uncertain economic times is a testament to the promise our investors see in WafR and its ability to innovate in the fast-paced retail sector.
“We continue to make significant technical and commercial progress to support FMCG retailers and brands,” said Ismail Bargach, co-founder of WafR.
Yasser Biaz, managing director of UM6P Ventures, said he was delighted to invest in WafR, a startup with strong growth potential, and to contribute to its development.
“WafR has benefited from the Plug and Play partner acceleration programme, its funding, and the talented coders and developers from the 1337 Coding School.
“WafR is an innovative solution that enables retail players to deliver smart promotions to grocers while optimising the customer experience and the purchasing power of the app’s users,” he said.
Meanwhile in Egypt, e-grocery marketplace ON Market has raised US$215,000 in pre-seed funding to further expand its operations in Cairo, Alexandria, Tanta, Mansoura, and multiple other cities across the country.
Founded in June 2020 in Tanta by Moatasem Marzouk, Seif Yasser, Ahmed Najjar, and Moataz Marzouk, ON Market empowers grocery retailers with tech solutions to build and sustain online commerce.
The startup, which graduated from the AUC Venture Lab’s acceleration programme in 2021, also connects customers through their app with nearby grocery retailers, enabling them to order from multiple retailers in a single order.
The pre-seed funding comes from a host of angel investors will be used to help ON Market expand into more cities over the course of 2022.
In February 2022, it expanded the business to Nasr City and Masr El Gedida, with plans to grow to Mansoura in Q3 2022 and Alexandria in Q2 2023, earning US$6 million in GMV.
By the end of 2021, the company had grown 10x in only one city, delivered 20,000 orders with a GMV of EGP 4 million (US$218,000), onboarded 70 shops, and achieved a 65 percent retention rate.
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