- Egypt-based VC firm DisrupTech Ventures has invested in Chari, a Y Combinator–backed Moroccan fintech startup, marking its first investment in Morocco and second in Africa outside Egypt. The fund will also join Chari’s board of directors to support its fintech-driven growth strategy.
- Founded in 2020 by Ismael Belkhayat and Sophia Alj, Chari enables small retailers to order FMCG products and access embedded financial services.
- Less than one month ago, Chari closed a $12 million Series A round, led by SPE Capital and Orange Ventures, with participation from over a dozen global investors. Chari also has received a payment institution licence from Bank Al-Maghrib, allowing it to issue IBANs and debit cards, process domestic and international transfers, and offer micro-insurance.
Press release:
DisrupTech Ventures, a leading early-stage fintech venture capital fund, announces its investment in Chari, a Y Combinator–backed startup that is transforming Morocco’s retail sector into a nationwide fintech network. This marks DisrupTech’s first investment in Morocco and its second in Africa outside of Egypt, underscoring the fund’s growing commitment to supporting fintech innovation across the continent.
Founded in 2020 by Ismael Belkhayat and Sophia Alj, Chari has built a licensed fintech platform that turns thousands of neighbourhood shops into access points for digital payments and financial services. By leveraging its payment institution licence from the Central Bank of Morocco, Chari is enabling merchants to function as financial hubs for their communities, giving consumers access to services that were previously out of reach.
While its mobile app also allows retailers to order consumer goods from FMCG distributors with rapid delivery, Chari’s mission goes far beyond e-commerce. The company is digitising financial flows in the informal economy, reducing dependency on cash, providing instant working capital, and embedding insurance and payment solutions directly into merchants’ day-to-day operations. In doing so, Chari is building what could become the financial backbone of Morocco’s informal retail economy.
“Our investment in Chari is a milestone for DisrupTech,” said Mohamed Okasha, Managing Partner at DisrupTech Ventures. “Chari is redefining how financial services are delivered at the grassroots level. By empowering small shops to act as financial gateways, Chari is creating the foundation for a new, inclusive fintech infrastructure in Morocco. This is exactly the kind of transformative model we seek to support across Africa.”
With over 20,000 retailers already onboarded, Chari is scaling rapidly to become the go-to platform for both commerce and financial services in Francophone Africa.
“We are delighted to welcome DisrupTech Ventures as a partner on our journey,” said Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and Co-Founder of Chari. “With DisrupTech’s backing, we are accelerating our mission to turn every corner shop into a financial access point. Together, we will continue to build technologies that drive financial inclusion and economic growth across Africa.”
The investment forms part of Chari’s Series A extension round, and as part of the deal, DisrupTech Ventures will join Chari’s board of directors, working closely with the founding team to advance its regional growth and fintech vision.