Cairo–Casablanca, November 5, 2025 — DisrupTech Ventures, Egypt’s leading early-stage fintech venture capital fund, has announced a strategic investment in Chari, a Y Combinator–backed Moroccan startup transforming traditional retail into a nationwide fintech network. This marks DisrupTech’s first investment in Morocco and its second in Africa outside Egypt, signaling its growing commitment to financial inclusion and digital innovation across the continent.
Founded in 2020 by Ismael Belkhayat and Sophia Alj, Chari operates a licensed fintech platform that empowers neighborhood shops to become local access points for digital payments, microfinance, insurance, and other financial services. Leveraging its payment institution license from the Central Bank of Morocco, Chari digitizes financial flows in the informal economy, helping small merchants reduce cash dependency and gain access to working capital.
Chari’s app also enables retailers to order consumer goods from distributors with fast delivery — but its broader goal is to build the financial backbone of Morocco’s informal retail sector, embedding fintech capabilities directly into daily transactions.
“Our investment in Chari is a milestone for DisrupTech,” said Mohamed Okasha, Managing Partner at DisrupTech Ventures. “By empowering small shops to act as financial gateways, Chari is creating a foundation for inclusive fintech infrastructure in Morocco and beyond.”
With over 20,000 retailers already onboarded, Chari is rapidly scaling into Francophone Africa, becoming a unified platform for commerce and financial access.
“We are delighted to welcome DisrupTech Ventures as a partner,” said Ismael Belkhayat, Co-Founder and CEO of Chari. “Together, we aim to turn every corner shop into a financial access point, driving financial inclusion and economic growth across Africa.”
As part of Chari’s Series A extension round, DisrupTech will join the company’s board of directors, supporting its regional expansion and long-term fintech vision.
