WafR - Afrikan Heroes

Moroccan Fintech Startup WafR Secures $120K To Expand Customer Base

November 9, 2022

WafR, a Moroccan fintech firm, has raised $120,000 in its fourth round of fundraising in 2022 from Casablanca-based fintech-focused venture capital First Circle Capital.

This year, WafR raised $1.2 million, contributing to a huge boost in the company’s worth to $10 million. Within six months, the firm intends to invest the funds raised to develop its customer base and reach 50,000 active partner merchants.

Bargach intends to use the latest round of funding to further the startup’s goal of delivering “the greatest possible support to retailers and FMCG companies.”

First Circle Capital re-invested in WafR this week, reiterating its support for the Moroccan startup’s ambition. The Casablanca-based venture capital firm, together with WeLoveBuzz and other business angels, contributed to WafR’s $1 million seed round in June.

“After seeing exponential growth in all of the startup’s KPIs [Key Performance Indexes] and the founding team’s know-how, our conviction was reinforced and we decided to multiply the amount of money we had previously invested by more than 10,” First Circle Capital’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner Selma Ribica explained.

Given that WafR enjoys “unique” market positioning at the crossroads of retail and fintech in Morocco, Ribica says that First Circle Capital is “confident about the future of WafR and look[s] forward to the next few months to see how it evolves in Morocco today and in many other countries tomorrow.”

A Look At What The Startup Does

Ismail Bargach and Reda Sallak started the firm in 2021 with the goal of digitising cashback and in-store rewards, allowing merchants and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands to increase customer loyalty.

According to its co-founder Bargach, the company capitalises on the rising regional FMCG sector, which is estimated at $30 billion in Morocco and $600 billion across Africa.

Egyptian Foodtech Brotinni Lands $600,000 Seed To Expand “dark butcher’s” Network

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Moroccan Fintech Startup WafR Raises $455,000

June 7, 2022

WafR, an app that allows retail brands to broadcast smart promotions to grocers in order to improve their market share on the traditional channel, has said that it has raised $455k in addition to the previous $620k.

WafR’s goal is to provide the finest support possible to retail brands. This additional funding will help the Moroccan business to grow its personnel and extend its network of partner retailers.

WafR is currently worth $9 million as a result of this fundraising round. Launch Africa Ventures, a famous pan-African venture capital fund located in South Africa, First Circle Capital, WeLoveBuzz, and other business angels contributed to the money.

“We are very pleased with the collection of investors we were able to obtain in this new investment round and are proud of WafR’s excellent growth over the previous 12 months,” said WafR co-founder Ismail Bargach.

These funds will be utilized to support the startup’s growth, but more crucially, to accomplish its aspirations in terms of expanding its grocer network. WafR currently has 20,000 grocery partners and aspires to achieve 50,000 in total, assisting its FMCG customers in delivering smart promotions that would allow them to improve their market share.

This funding will also enable WafR to grow its staff by recruiting a late co-founder, allowing it to expedite its commercial efforts.

Here’s A List Of Over 600 New Startup Investors In Africa

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Morocco’s WafR Raises Additional $278K For Its Smart Promotions Solution

April 6, 2022

WafR, an application that allows mass retail brands to broadcast smart promotions to grocery retailers in order to increase their market share on the traditional channel, announces that it has raised 2.7 million dirhams (USD278,000) with UM6P Ventures, Plug and Play, and several other Moroccan and foreign business angels, following an initial fundraising of 3.5 million dirhams.

With this fresh investment, the Moroccan startup’s valuation has increased to 73 million dirhams (USD7.5 million), more than doubling the previous round’s valuation.

Among the notable investors is Plug and Play, the most active venture capital investor in Silicon Valley, with nearly 300 investments made each year, and which has made notable investments in Dropbox, N26, PayPal, and Flutterwave, the best-valued start-up in Africa, which has recently reached three billion dollars.

This fundraising also included UM6P Ventures, Mohammed 6 Polytechnic University’s (UM6P) venture capital investment fund, whose aim is to foster entrepreneurship and accelerate scientific innovation in Morocco and Africa.

“We are excited to invest in WafR, a startup with significant growth potential, and to contribute to its growth with the help of the UM6P ecosystem. WafR has benefited from the Plug&Play partner acceleration program, money, and experienced coders and developers from the 1337 school,” Yasser Biaz, Managing Director of UM6P Ventures, said.

“Closing a big investment round in these times of economic uncertainty reflects the promise our investors see in WafR and its ability to innovate in a thriving retail industry,” said WafR co-founder Ismail Bargach.

The funds will be utilized to support the startup’s growth, but more importantly, to accomplish its goals in terms of growing its network of supermarkets.

WafR, which has a network of over 12,000 retailers, aspires to reach 50,000 partner grocery stores in order to enable its FMCG partners to deliver smart promotions and gain market share.

“We will continue to make innovative and big sales to serve FMCG distributors and brands,” Ismail Bargach concludes.

Backed By $30m In VC Funding, Algerian Mobility Startup Yassir Launches Yassir Market Ahead Of West Africa Launch

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Moroccan Reward-based Loyalty Startup WafR Raises $372K

February 18, 2022

Following an initial investment of 300,000 dirhams made during a Moroccan TV show called “Who Will Invest In My Project,” several new investors have invested in WafR, a reward-based loyalty startup that allows users to earn phone recharges while shopping at retail shops. The startup has received 3.5 million dirhams ($372k) as a result of the funding.

The funding has increased the company’s value to 30 million dirhams ($3 million).

The financing will mostly be used to expand WafR’s retail network, with the goal of increasing the number of retail shops who use the app from 10,000 to 50,000, according to Ismail Bargach, co-founder of WafR.

WafR, which was founded in 2021, is an app that allows users to get a promotion at the time of purchase/sale in order to steer their purchases toward a specific brand.

Essentially, WafR is a loyalty solution for large retailers.

The application aids manufacturers in increasing market share, sales volume, and profit by guiding consumer choice.

Retail shops account for 85% of sales in Morocco, while supermarkets account for 15%.

Nigerian Mobility Fintech Startup Moove Launches In Kenya

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