Back to the complete issue
Tuesday, 6 September 2022

E-commerce platform El Dokan + used-car retailer Carzami close first funding rounds

Two local startups get a first foot on the funding ladder: E-commerce software provider El Dokan raised USD 550k in a seed round, while online used car marketplace Carzami bagged pre-seed funding, but declined to say how much it had raised.

FIRST UP- Cairo-based e-commerce platform El Dokan has raised USD 550k in its first funding round, led by EFG EV, Flat6Labs, 500 Global and Hala Ventures, the company said in a statement (pdf) yesterday.

About El Dokan: Founded in late 2020 by Ahmed Maher (LinkedIn), Mohammed Yousry (LinkedIn) and Sherif Alaa (LinkedIn), the company offers large retailers software to develop their own e-commerce platforms. El Dokan has more than 50 clients on its roster, including P&G, Misr Pharmacies, and startups such as Appetito. “We focus on medium and large enterprises because their operations are more complex,” Maher, who serves as the company’s CEO, told us. “Small businesses can go to any retailer to launch their e-commerce operations.” Earlier this year, the firm was among two startups chosen to work with P&G Egypt through its MEA Innovation Challenge.

The company has its eye on GCC expansion: The seed funding will go towards growing the company’s operations across the region by expanding its sales and marketing team, Maher told us. El Dokan is already registered in Saudi Arabia in preparation for launch, he said, adding that it is also planning expansion into other GCC and African countries. “We’ve been working on building our tech and working with local enterprises but our main goal is to scale our tech across the Middle East and Africa,” he said.

More funding to come: The startup is hoping to raise a USD 5 mn round by the end of next year, the CEO said.

AND- Carzami closes first funding round: Egyptian used car trading platform Carzami has raised pre-seed funding round led by Contact Financial Holding, along with an inventory financing facility, the startup said in a statement. Representatives from Contact and Carzami weren’t available for comment when we reached out yesterday.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.