Moroccan Startup Chari Buys Ivorian B2B e-Eommerce Startup Diago

Chari, a Moroccan B2B e-commerce and finance firm, said today that it has purchased a 100% share in Diago, an Ivorian app that connects local stores with FMCG makers and importers.

AF Legal and RBB International firms, representing Chari, and Houda Law Firm, representing the Ivorian startup, handled the all-stock transaction.

This transaction comes just three months after Chari purchased $22 million for Axa Credit, the credit unit of Axa Assurance Maroc. Chari has now made and announced three successful acquisitions in ten months, with Karny, a bookkeeping app it purchased last year in August.

“Building a local team that learns local market dynamics is the cornerstone to a successful expansion,” stated Chari CEO Ismail Belkhayat, who co-founded the company with his wife Sophia Alj (COO) in 2020. “The real challenge is persuading local entrepreneurs to team up with Chari in order to accelerate growth.”

In an interview with TechCabal last year, Belkhayat stated that the company’s goal is to be the market leader in francophone Africa. Its first significant excursion is today, and it pledges to “continue to surround ourselves with young and ambitious entrepreneurs from francophone Africa to develop together a pan-African behemoth of FMCG and financial services distribution.”

Diago was founded in 2021 by Ali Ouattara and Amidou Diarra, two former executives from Glovo and PepsiCo. Diago only operates in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s capital and one of Africa’s largest French-speaking towns.

Ouattara and Diarra, who had sought capital and market and tech advisory before deciding to exit to the Moroccan, will stay CEO and COO, respectively, according to Chari. Chari’s main goal is for the couple to oversee local business growth before spreading their influence to other Sub-Saharan African countries.

“Chari’s comprehensive support services will be provided to Diago’s entire staff,” stated Cyrille Jacques, Chari’s VP of international expansion. “Chari’s back office in Casablanca will assist the Diago team with operations, IT tools, and customer service.”

African startups are increasingly engaging in local and international mergers and acquisitions (M&A), particularly cross-regional deals. Autochek, a Nigerian autotech firm, recently traveled to Morocco to acquire KIFAL Auto. Chari is currently acquiring a startup in West Africa.

According to Belkhayat, the company is currently raising a large series A round. Who knows what Belkhayat will do with the “large series A” when it finally closes, given that his 2-year-old business has already completed three acquisitions and is active in three countries—Morocco, Tunisia, and now Cote d’Ivoire.