News

Saudi Sary Acquires Egyptian B2B Marketplace ‘Mowarrid’

Saudi Arabia-based B2B e-commerce platform Sary has acquired Mowarrid, an Egypt-based B2B marketplace, for an undisclosed amount.

Mowarrid (founded in 2018) by Ahmed Essam, one of the leading B2B marketplaces in Egypt, focuses on B2B food and grocery, allowing retailers to procure their needs across its platform digitally.

After raising the highest E-commerce funding round in Egypt ($75M Series C) in December 2021, taking the total funding raised by the startup to $112 million, this acquisition reflects a strategic move for Sary toward its expansion plans throughout the North African markets starting from Egypt, the second-largest economy in Africa, and the third-largest in the Arab world with a $60 billion wholesale and retail trade industry.

This acquisition is the beginning of multiple expansion activities for Sary toward its vision to lead the B2B e-commerce in emerging markets, starting with MENAP. Bridging its geographies enables a regional network to connect buyers and sellers across markets.

Ahmed Essam led the company toward unlocking a $25M run rate allowing more than 10,000 retailers to digitally procure all their needs across a variety of more than 1000 products in the platform.

As observed in our flagship MENA 2022 Venture Investment Report, MENA-based startups recorded more than double Exits in 2021 than the year before. Exits’ 120% YoY growth was driven by several startups acquiring their counterparts across geographies to expand across markets.

This cross-pollination has been evident in acquisitions like Egypt-based MaxAB (EGY) acquiring its Moroccan counterpart Waystocap to consolidate markets, Saudi-based DIGGIPACKS obtaining its Egyptian counterpart FWRUN to enter a new market, or even Jordan-based Abwaab acquiring Pakistan-based Edmatrix to expand their services beyond their given geographies.

We’ve seen startups like Egypt-based Elmenus raising investments from the likes of Fawry and Uber-backed Careem, or social commerce platform Brimore backing its logistics service provider Milezmore, so the race towards the regionals in the cross-startup VC investment climate is apparent.

The fast-growing Saudi B2B marketplace expanded across the region, focusing on building a frictionless experience and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to connect MSMEs with the most extensive network of international brands and regional players.

“We are excited to join forces with Ahmed and the amazing team at Mowarrid, their hyperlocal understanding of the Egyptian market is profound, and we believe that our visions are in harmony toward reinventing the B2B ecosystem across the region.” Mohammed AlDossary, Co-Founder and CEO of Sary, said.

Explained, “Egypt is a strategic market for us and has a huge synergy with the Saudi and GCC markets. The industry has witnessed significant growth in the past years with very strong digitization in the wholesale and retail trade industry, which accounted for around 15% of Egypt’s GDP.”

The Egypt-based B2B platform was able to bootstrap its early-stage investment into scaling success as it enters an elevated level of operation since its inception. Mowarrid was able to leverage the power of intelligent technologies, focusing on an underserved SME segment rooted with potential, to create a unique market offering and make its way to Exit. At the same time, this acquisition’s valuation and financial details remain undisclosed.

“Since 2018, Mowarrid’s journey has been rewarding by enabling small businesses in Egypt with smarter supply chain solutions. Today, joining forces with Sary to build one stronger entity with a solid footprint, regional network, and technological capabilities in two of the most important economies in the region.” founder and CEO of Mowarrid Ahmed Essam highlighted.

Sari reached more than 350,000 customers and served over 40,000 businesses in 15 cities across Saudi Arabia, moving more than 270,000 pallets of goods.

“Sharing many values and principles, our combined force is our greatest advantage in the next years as we continue to solidify our grounds in the current markets and continue the expansion journey with a solid head start.” Mohammed AlDossari said, explaining that this acquisition marks their official launch in the Egyptian market, which will be driven to fruition with the resources and expertise of the well-positioned.

Related Articles