B2B logistics firm Khazenly has closed a USD 2.5 mn seed round led by Arzan Venture Capital and Shorooq Partners with participation from Camel Ventures, Averroes Ventures, and a number angel investors, the company said in a release (pdf).

About Khazenly: Founded last year by Mohamed Younes (LinkedIn), Osama Aljammali (LinkedIn), Mohamed Montasser (LinkedIn), and Ahmed Dewidar (LinkedIn), the company provides fulfillment and logistics solutions for e-commerce businesses and aims to provide merchants with a one-stop-shop to help them digitize their businesses, from first mile, storage, last mile and cash-on-delivery. “We see a pretty big gap in the market in terms of omnichannel fulfillment, whether it’s pure e-commerce, whether it's B2C or B2B,” CEO Younes tells Enterprise. For those wondering what omnichannel fulfillment is: It’s when customers get their products delivered or have stores to do their shopping. Khazenly offers its services via monthly subscription.

Khazenly will use the funding to grow its physical footprint with an eye to quadruple the company’s facilities, build more data-driven products, and expand its geographic reach. “We have a strong pipeline of contracts that require us to expand our space,” Younes said. “We are on the cusp of tremendous client growth in Egypt due to our constantly innovative solutions … We are very proud of our achievements to date, and are thrilled about the immediate future.”

IN OTHER STARTUP NEWS-

Regtech startup Valify Solutions has closed a USD 1 mn seed round led by 4DX Ventures and Alsara Investment Group, Valify founders Omar Abdelwahed (LinkedIn) and Ibrahim Eid (LinkedIn) told Enterprise. A15, Tawasol Holding and angel investors also participated in the round. They too plan to use the funding to explore a regional expansion, Abdelwahed said.

A “digital identity gateway”: The startup specializes in digital identity infrastructure technology. The B2B2C company uses online ID verification technologies to offer its users a number of services, including digital user onboarding, identity verification, biometric authentication, document authentication, branch automation and AML (anti-money laundering) compliance. The startup helps its clients in the banking, telecom, e-commerce sectors digitize their onboarding process, Abdelwahed told us. The startup’s clientele includes Thndr, Aman, Agel and Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait.

Looking ahead: “We are preparing for the floodgates to open, seeing as regulations are moving in the direction where identity verification online will be possible,” Abdelwahed told us, mentioning the Financial Regulatory Authority’s new fintech law and the Central Bank of Egypt’s KYC regulations framework which is expected to be in force by the end of the year.