Egyptian e-commerce start-up, ExpandCart raises $2.7 million in a Pre-Series B funding round
ExpandCart, an e-commerce platform for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has announced the completion of a new $2.7 million fundraising round.
The investment was led by Betatron Venture Group, a Hong Kong-based venture capital firm, and included Egypt’s Sawari Ventures and Kuwait’s Agility Ventures.
ExpandCart is the Middle East and North Africa’s largest provider of online store building services and platforms (MENA).
Since its beginning in 2016, the company has expanded to over 40 countries around the world, with a customer base of over 25,000 merchants who have generated over $850 million in income by operating in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
ExpandCart, for its part, is preparing to launch its Series B’ funding round, which will be devoted to expanding into newer markets and developing a comprehensive electronic system for products and business solutions that will assist the company in acquiring new segments of merchants with needs that extend beyond the needs of a traditional online store.
“The growth of e-commerce in the Middle East has been remarkable, and we are proud to be one of the driving factors behind it by assisting millions of Middle Eastern businesses in going online.” In this round, we are determined to be more customer-centric than ever before in order to develop highly effective and frictionless e-commerce operations. Amr Shawky, ExpandCart’s Co-Founder and CEO, remarked, “We will continue to focus on establishing a more complete array of goods to help our merchants thrive.”
The new financing will support ExpandCart’s expansion into new areas and growth in existing regions, with a focus on maximizing R&D efforts and developing new technologies and products to offer one million MENA merchants with smart technology solutions over the next three years.
One of these creative technologies is ExpandBot, a chatbot software that allows businesses to engage with their consumers and respond to their inquiries via Facebook Messenger without the need for additional customer service workers.
