Taager, a Cairo-based social commerce network, has raised $6.4 million in a seed round led by 4DX Ventures. Raed Ventures, Beco Capital, Breyer Capital, and certain private investors, including Careem’s Magnus Olsson, also participated in the round. Taager’s total investment now stands at $7 million.
“Small and medium-sized businesses are the engine of Egypt’s economy and we want to empower them with the best tools to drive their growth. In just over a year, we have built a huge body of data that does just that and we want to enable many more social entrepreneurs and online merchants to grow their businesses throughout Egypt and the MENA region,” Mohamed Elhorishy, co-founder and CEO of Taager, said.
The funding will be used to grow the startup’s operations and footprint across Egypt, as well as to improve its technology. It goes up against Algebra and Endure-backed Brimore, which has already garnered over $4 million.
Why The Investors Invested
Investment in Taager is Breyer Capital’s first in a Middle East and North African startup. Facebook, Spotify, and Etsy are among the companies in which the firm has previously invested. When asked about investing in Taager, its founder and CEO noted that the company’s progress in the growing social ecommerce area has been outstanding.
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“We are excited to help the company maintain this impressive momentum as it scales the business beyond Egypt. The MENA region is one of the most exciting right now and we believe there’s a great opportunity for Taager to replicate its unique data-driven approach for further growth across the region,” Breyer’s CEO said.
“The Taager team have achieved very impressive results incredibly quickly, and also built one of the most impressive teams in the ecosystem. Their focus on quality and execution, and a very unique approach to empowering ecommerce entrepreneurs is a dominant combination. We’re thrilled to partner with the team in the next phase of the company’s growth,” Peter Orth, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at 4DX Ventures, said.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Taager, founded in 2019 by Mohamed Elhorishy, Ismail Omar, Abdelrahman Sherif, and Ahmed Ismail, is establishing Egypt’s Meesho, allowing anyone to start selling online by providing products and managing the entire process. The platform allows vendors to establish a product catalog and then share it with potential buyers via WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, or any other channel to receive orders. The merchants then submit the orders to Taager, which uses third-party logistics firms to transport them straight to the clients.
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As a result, a seller’s only responsibility is to discover clients and receive orders; the rest is handled by Taager. Home remodeling and design, fashion, car accessories, and mobile accessories are just some of the product categories available to sellers. Taager claims to have raised its GMV by 40% on average month over month since its start in December 2019. Over 5,000 merchants and hundreds of suppliers are being served by the startup.
“The pandemic has accelerated the growth of ecommerce rapidly and in a relatively short time span and has driven our platform to a market-leading position. This was no easy feat in one of the toughest markets to operate in. We are excited to have some of the leading investors in the world back our vision as we look to scale and grow our platform across the region. We have world-class talent in our team and we are looking forward to taking the business to new heights in the coming months,” CEO Elhorishy who formerly worked for a Cairo-based investment firm, said.
Taager social commerce Taager social commerce
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer