Chari, a B2B e-commerce and fintech startup based in Morocco, has acquired Diago, an Ivorian app that connects neighborhood shops with FMCG producers and importers.
Diago, founded in 2021 by Amidou Diarra and Ali Ouattara, two former Glovo and PepsiCo executives, operates solely in Abidjan. Ali and Amidou will continue to serve as CEO and COO, respectively, and will oversee local business growth before expanding into other Sub-Saharan African countries.
“Diago’s entire team will receive Chari’s full support functions. Chari’s Casablanca back office will help Diago team in setting up operations, IT tools and customer service,” Cyrille Jacques, vice president of Chari in charge of leading international expansion, said.
Chari is an e-commerce platform for grocery stores in Francophone Africa founded by Ismael Belkhayat and his wife Sophia Alj. It enables store owners to order anything they sell and have it delivered the next day.
It collaborates with FMCG multinationals and local manufacturers to deliver goods to mom and pop shops in under 24 hours. Through its recent acquisition of Karny.ma, it also provides payment services and financial services.
Chari aspires to be the leader of this business model in Francophone Africa after a successful proof of concept in Morocco.
“The secret of a successful expansion is to build a local team that masters local market dynamics.
“The real challenge is to convince local entrepreneurs to join forces with Chari to grow faster. We continue to surround ourselves with young and ambitious entrepreneurs from Francophone Africa to build together a pan-African giant of FMCG and financial services distribution,” Belkhayat said.
Chari received a $5 million seed round led by Rocket Internet, Global Founders Capital, and P1 Ventures in October of last year. The company was established in early 2020. They previously worked as strategy consultants for McKinsey and BCG.
Chari was incubated within the family-owned H&S Invest Holding before joining the ranks of STATION F in Paris.
