B2B e-commerce marketplace Mazaya (not to be confused with the perfume and makeup store) closed a USD 5 mn pre-seed round led by Raya Trade and Distribution, it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday.

About Mazaya: Founded in December 2021 by Amir Aboul Fotouh (LinkedIn), who was previously commercial planning senior manager at Raya, Mazaya’s app allows merchants and retailers of electronic goods and home appliances to purchase stock, and offers e-payment, POS and BNPL financing facilities. Since launching, more than 6k retailers have used the company’s platform to make some 30k orders.

Where the money’s going: The funding will be used to finance the company’s planned expansion to Nigeria by the end of the year and to expand its operations in Egypt, according to the statement.

Adjusting to the current climate: “The company began selling small electronic goods and then we expanded to consumer electronics and small domestic appliances. The reason we expanded our product range past phones and tablets is because several consumer electronics, like TVs are manufactured here in Egypt, so they are easier to supply than products that are strictly imported,” Aboul Fotouh told Enterprise. Egypt has been working on localizing the electronics manufacturing industry through its Egypt Makes Electronics Initiative, which we looked at in this week’s edition of Inside Industry.

ALSO FROM PLANET STARTUP-

Paymob merchants will be able to access UAE fintech Tabby’s buy-now pay-later (BNPL) financing services under a new partnership between the two companies announced in a joint statement (pdf). The agreement will give Tabby access to more than 120k merchants, according to the statement. This comes less than a month after the Emirati company officially launched in Egypt following a USD 275 mn funding round.