Egypt-Based Fincart.io Secures Pre-Seed Funding

Egypt-based Fincart.io, a platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in e-commerce improve shipping and access working capital, has closed a pre-seed funding round for an undisclosed amount.

The round was led by the Dubai-based venture capital firm Plus VC, with participation from regional and international investors, including Plug and Play, Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Orbit Startups, and Saudi Arabia-based early-stage investments firm Jedar Capital, among others.   

The funds will be used to enhance Fincart.io’s technology platform and grow its courier network to support the e-commerce market in Africa and the Middle East. With the region's e-commerce market projected to reach US$75 billion by 2028, driven by more than four million SMBs, the company aims to address logistics challenges faced by online sellers. 

Established in 2023 by Mostafa Elmasry and Nihal Ali, Fincart.io focuses on solving shipping issues that limit the growth of e-commerce businesses. The platform provides cost-effective delivery options, simplifies operations, and offers access to working capital. Through Fincart.io, e-commerce SMBs can connect their website, manage orders, access Africa’s largest courier network, and unlock working capital. Since its launch, the startup has experienced four times year-over-year (YoY) growth. 

In an interview with Inc. Arabia, Elmasry, co-founder and CEO of Fincart.io, shared insights into the company’s journey, its plans for growth, and how the team intends to navigate the challenges of scaling across Africa and the Middle East.

“Our journey has been nothing short of exciting and rewarding,” Elmasry said. “We were super focused to launch our initial minimum viable product (MVP) as fast as possible and we knew that we had to make sure that our service has viability and traction, so we bootstrapped our first year of operation before taking on institutional investors. We made sure there is a real need for our service in the market and that we can build a business model that is sustainable and profitable. We plan to utilize the investment to expand our product offering, improve our technical infrastructure, and ramp our talent capacity to drive our growth further.” 

Elmasry also discussed the challenges that Fincart.io is likely to face as it scales across Africa and the Middle East. “African e-commerce has to face poor infrastructure, which makes shipping more challenging, and merchants are always looking for the most convenient option that facilitates their daily operations," he explained. "Our focus is on building a seamless and simple-to-use platform for merchants, so we can alleviate the daily headaches and challenges of shipping, and allow them to focus on growing their online brand with confidence.” 

He added that the company is fully prepared to assist e-commerce merchants by providing a platform that integrates over 30 shipping partners and access to the largest network in Egypt and Africa, while offering simple daily cash reconciliations for cash-on-delivery transactions. 

Elmasry emphasized how attention to the customer experience has been central to the company’s approach. “A super key insight is that customers are very ready to adopt new technology. We spent our early weeks worried about customer adoption, however we were surprised by how adoptive merchants were to use our platform. We were and still are getting a lot of referrals from existing customers as they find our service quite convenient,” he said, adding that customers have reported that they “value convenience as much as they consider price/cost.” 

With e-commerce in the MENA projected to exceed $50 billion this year, Elmasry shared his thoughts on the trends and regulatory shifts that will impact online sellers and logistics providers in the short term. “Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a critical role in enhancing customer experiences by enabling hyper-personalized recommendations and predictive analytics. merchants leveraging AI will see improved conversion rates and customer retention,” he noted. “Social commerce is expanding, with platforms like Instagram and TikTok becoming key sales channels. Additionally, the adoption of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and open banking initiatives is transforming payment accessibility across the region.” 

Elmasry also pointed to the growing importance of cross-border e-commerce. “New trade agreements and digital infrastructure improvements are making cross-border e-commerce more accessible," he said. "Sellers that streamline their operations for international customers will gain a competitive edge.”  

Pictured on image from left to right: Fincart founders Mostafa Elmasry and Nihal Ali. Image courtesy Fincart.io.