Egyptian e-Commerce Startup, el-dokan Secures $550,000 Pre-seed Round

A collection of local and regional investors, including EFG EV and Flat6Labs, 500 Global, and Hala Ventures, led a $550,000 pre-Seed round of funding for the Egypt-based enterprise e-commerce solutions startup el-dokan.

Every retailer’s business strategy today includes e-commerce, and platforms and technology providers are vying to offer merchants the finest tools possible to help them expand and streamline their operations. In its most recent incarnation, el-dokan offers e-commerce APIs for large- and medium-sized retailers as well as startups, enabling them to create highly customized and personalized e-commerce stores. This is in contrast to businesses like Shopify and other regional shop builders whose focus is to address the needs of smaller retailers.

El-dokan, which debuted in Egypt in late 2020, primarily targets big-box shops and chain stores looking to grow their e-commerce market share, boost sales, and automate operations.

Ahmed Maher, co-founder and CEO of el-dokan, commented on the news, stating that the company’s ability to gain investors’ trust and close its pre-Seed round is largely due to the fact that el-dokan is one of the extremely limited number of businesses that focuses on developing advanced software using cutting-edge technologies like headless, composable e-commerce architecture.

El-dokan offers the best technological infrastructure through the use of “headless e-commerce technology, allowing tech teams to develop highly customizable e-commerce with maximum flexibility to help businesses respond more quickly to changing business needs and keep up with the rapid changes in e-commerce.

With 300+ open API endpoints, it not only targets retailers but also software firms and developers who work closely with businesses wishing to quickly and affordably construct their online storefronts.

“The majority of retailers have frequently demonstrated their willingness to either upgrade to more flexible and innovative technology or replace the traditional e-commerce methods. By enabling retailers to increase sales while lowering maintenance costs, the technology developed by el-dokan “changes the equation” and enables our merchants to swiftly and easily create API connections with our partners to assure the greatest levels of operational efficiency. The chief technology officer (CTO) and co-founder of el-dokan, Mohamed Yousry, stated that our platform can easily interact with any third-party providers, including payment, shipping, point of sale (POS), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

“After observing the significant influence el-dokan has had on enterprise businesses in the MENA and the rapid growth we’ve seen, we’re thrilled that our clients were able to achieve $45 million GMV after switching from other well-known software solutions that don’t address the challenges of today to ours. Procter & Gamble (P&G), Misr Pharmacies, Mobily, Zahran shops, Apple Premium vendor Switch Plus, as well as supermarket delivery service Appetito, are just a few of the international clients we now serve. And this proves that regionally based digital businesses can compete globally by creating cutting edge solutions that are trusted by major, global brands, said Yousry.

With EFG EV among its earliest investors, Walid Hassouna, CEO of valU, the top buy now pay later (BNPL) platform in Egypt, expressed his joy over the company’s successful completion of its maiden investment round. With el-dokan and its all-star staff, who are able to carve out a space for themselves in the quickly-evolving e-commerce business, “we are looking forward to exciting times ahead,” added Hassouna.