B2B Platform Cartona Raises $12 Million Series A Round
Cartona, a B2B platform based in Egypt, has closed its $12 million Series A fundraise led by Silicon Badia – the venture capital firm investing in global technology entrepreneurs. Founded in 2019, Cartona is digitising the traditional trade market in Egypt, including mom-and-pop stores, FMCG producers, wholesalers, and distributors. The startup embraces a cashless society […]
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Cartona’s co-founders (L-R) Rafik Zaher, chief executive Mahmoud Talaat and Mahmoud Abdel Fattah
Cartona, a B2B platform based in Egypt, has closed its $12 million Series A fundraise led by Silicon Badia – the venture capital firm investing in global technology entrepreneurs.
Founded in 2019, Cartona is digitising the traditional trade market in Egypt, including mom-and-pop stores, FMCG producers, wholesalers, and distributors.
The startup embraces a cashless society vision, investing in embedded finance, payments, and operational integration with all stakeholders. This provides retailers and suppliers with an integrated solution boosting financial inclusion, enabling them to run and grow their business more efficiently, and reach end-consumers with essential products at affordable prices.
Cartona’s model is asset-light, not owning a single product, warehouse, or vehicle. This allows Cartona to execute its strategy of digitising Egypt’s traditional, largely offline trade market by eliminating inefficiencies across the supply chain while enabling seamless financial services solutions to an underserved network of hundreds of thousands of shops.
Mahmoud Talaat, CEO and co-founder of Cartona, said: “We are delighted to complete our Series A fundraise. The market context for Cartona is hugely attractive, and we are just getting started. Egypt has hundreds of thousands of mom-and-pop stores that are core to our business model. We will continue empowering them via efficient and seamless solutions in their trade and financial cycle with FMCG companies and wholesalers, aligning with our mission to help people better manage and control their businesses.”
Namek T. Zu’bi, Founding Managing Partner at Silicon Badia, said: “We are thrilled to partner with the Cartona team to help them continue to disrupt the $120 billion Egyptian retail market through its B2B technology platform and embedded financial service offerings. The market is hungry for these types of solutions and we believe Cartona’s asset-light approach will allow them to serve as many marketplace participants as possible in a highly efficient manner.”
Dr Daniela Beckmann, SANAD Board Chairperson, said: “We are incredibly proud of this transaction as it is the first investment of SANAD ESF II in Egypt, continuing the success of ESF I investments made in the country. By providing both financing and software tailored to the market, Cartona’s digital platform is supporting innovative MSME retailers across Egypt, which will greatly contribute to SANAD’s mission of pursuing growth and employment creation across the region.”
