Cartona, a leading platform empowering and modernizing Egypt’s traditional trade market, including small shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes, consumer goods companies, and distributors, has closed an $8.1 million Series A funding round.

The round was led by Algebra Ventures, Egypt’s leading tech venture capital firm, with participation from Cartona’s existing investors such as Silicon Badia and the SANAD Fund for MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises).

This round was raised from a position of strength, as Cartona still holds a significant cash reserve from its previous $12 million Series A funding round led by Silicon Badia.

Out of the total raised, $5.6 million will be allocated to fuel growth across various Cartona sectors, including consumer goods, hotels, restaurants, cafes, increasing market share, and laying a strong foundation for regional expansion into new and large markets in the MENA region.

Additionally, Cartona will explore potential new opportunities in the B2B2C model.

This round also includes $2.5 million in debt from leading debt providers (Camel Ventures and GlobalCorp) as part of Cartona’s strategy to diversify capital sources.

The debt was raised in local currency under competitive terms and will help meet the working capital needs of local retailers who might find it challenging to access capital through other means.

Cartona’s asset-light business model, characterized by low costs and strong unit economics, is a key differentiator, especially in an inflationary environment, enabling the company to achieve expertise levels comparable to asset-heavy operating models.

This positive outlook follows strong financial and operational progress, and a future-oriented strategy:

• Robust Revenue and Operational Growth: Over 188,000 merchants on the platform, presence in 17 Egyptian cities, and increasing market share.
• Increased Digital Adoption and Product Growth: Interactive social features like enabling small retailers to pool orders and access financing.
• Rapid Growth in the HORECA Sector: Leveraging Cartona’s infrastructure and expertise in its core consumer goods business, already serving over 3,000 customers, demonstrating the rapid scalability of asset-light business models.

Mahmoud Talaat, CEO and Co-Founder of Cartona, said, “We are pleased to complete the Series A extension round, which we did from a position of strength.

All our operational and financial metrics are progressing very positively, which helped us attract capital from existing and new investors.

He added, “We are committed to achieving our strategy of transforming the traditional trade market and creating value for all stakeholders in the market.”

Omar Khashaba, General Partner at Algebra Ventures, added, “Cartona has built an exceptionally capital-efficient model, enabling it to achieve strong growth and profitability, even during economic challenges.

The asset-light nature of its model allows for scalable infrastructure that can be quickly adapted to enter new markets and opportunities.

Cartona has also been a driving force for financial inclusion in the retail sector, with more and more of its small traders benefiting from inventory financing options.

He explained, “Mahmoud is an outstanding operator, seamlessly blending deep retail sector expertise with a desire to leverage technology to rewrite the rules of the game.

The team’s core focus on profitability, even when capital was cheap, helped establish credibility in debt discussions with banks and non-bank financial institutions.

We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Mahmoud and his team and believe they will reach their full potential.”

Cartona enables the traditional market to be more efficient by streamlining the distribution process, directly connecting retailers with distributors, suppliers, and consumer goods companies.

Retailers can better manage inventory and working capital through cash or credit orders, improving profit margins.

Cartona’s proprietary technology can integrate with retailers and suppliers for order purposes, inventory management, branding, embedded finance, records, and taxes.