Three months after raising $43 million, venture capital fund Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) invests in the retail sector of fast-moving consumer goods in Morocco.

Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) announced on June 29 an investment of $1.5 million in Chari, a Moroccan e-commerce platform for fast-moving consumer goods. For now, Verod did not reveal the number of shares acquired.

Launched in 2022, the investment vehicle is committed to supporting Chari's growth plans.

"As VKAV joins forces with Chari, the investment will provide the necessary momentum to drive the company's growth plans and continue developing its financial services infrastructure for the masses. The partnership will enable Chari to continue delivering innovative solutions while propelling the retail sector in Africa and globally," Verod said.

A Nigerian private equity firm and a Japanese venture capital firm jointly own Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures. Three months ago, Verod raised $43 million. At that time, VKAV revealed a portfolio of eight companies across Africa, including Chari. The latter is an e-commerce platform co-founded in 2020 by Moroccans Sophia and Ismaël Belkhayat,

VKAV’s investment will provide Chari access to its large African network, as well as to Japanese businesses, thus fostering the Moroccan platform’s expansion in Africa. At present, besides Morocco where it is based, Chari operates in Tunisia and Côte d'Ivoire.

Verod targets scalable businesses in their growth stage. By the end of 2023, the venture capital fund hopes to raise $100 million to fund its activities in Africa.

Chamberline Moko