Egyptian entrepreneur Amir Aboul Fotouh’s Mazaya startup raises $5 million to drive expansion plans

Mazaya, an Egyptian b2b e-commerce startup founded by Amir Aboul Fotouh, has raised $5 million in a pre-seed round led by Raya Trade & Distribution to support its expansion plans. Raya Trade & Distribution is a subsidiary of Egyptian investment conglomerate Raya Holding.

Mazaya was founded in December 2021 by Fotouh, a visionary Egyptian entrepreneur, with the aim of empowering retailers and merchants of electronic goods and home appliances by allowing them to efficiently procure inventory for their stores via the Mazaya app.

In addition to providing strategic market data and insights into merchant behavior to vendors, the platform helps increase sales coverage by 300 percent and expands the reach of rural areas and underserved merchants.

Mazaya will use the $5-million capital injection from investors to develop and improve its technology, expand local operations by adding new categories, and expand its reach and footprint in rural areas.

Since its launch in Egypt in 2021, it has worked with more than 6,000 retailers, fulfilled 30,000 orders with a gross merchandise value of $15 million, and presently has over 1,000 stock-keeping units on the platform

The funding round, which is in line with the startup’s intention to rapidly expand in the Egyptian market, will also allow the startup to grow its retailer base by providing retailers with access to a variety of financial services.

“By the end of 2022, we plan to start operations in Nigeria, then move to West African potential countries, and by 2024, we will explore business opportunities in North Africa and the GCC,” Fotouh said.

He added: “Egypt has great capabilities and ingredients that help the growth of e-commerce,” and the funds raised will allow the company to quickly scale its operations and expand into markets other than Egypt.