Morocco’s rising fintech startup Chari has successfully closed a <head>2 million Series A funding round. The capital injection is earmarked to expand Chari’s merchant super-app offerings and lay the foundations for what could become Morocco’s first Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. What is Chari & Why It Matters Chari (sometimes stylised Châri) is a startup focused on streamlining commerce for small and medium merchants in Morocco. Its aim is to offer an integrated platform combining: Inventory and supply chain solutions Payments, bill-payments, money transfers, debit cards Analytics and merchant lifecycle services Chari’s ambition is not just to be a marketplace for goods, but to become a full merchant super-app. With its newly granted license from Morocco’s central bank (Bank Al-Maghrib), it can offer a broader set of financial services, and is preparing to open up its rails (infrastructure) to other firms via BaaS. billionaires.africa+1 Details of the Funding & Backers Amount raised: <head>2 million in Series A. billionaires.africa+1 Use of proceeds: Accelerate product development, scale operations, formalize new financial services (payment accounts, IBANs, cards, etc.), and offer Banking-as-a-Service to third parties. billionaires.africa+1 Investors: The round was led by SPE Capital and Orange Ventures, with a mix of other local and international investors: Verod-Kepple, Global Founders Capital, Plug & Play, Endeavor Catalyst, among others. billionaires.africa+1 Regulatory milestone: Chari has become the first VC-backed startup in Morocco to secure a central bank license to operate as a payment institution. This allows it to legally provide many financial services under regulation. billionaires.africa+1 Strategic Implications & Market Landscape Why this is a Big Deal The license and funding combination is rare in the North African fintech scene, particularly for merchant-oriented super-apps. Being able to offer banking infrastructure (or embed financial services) gives Chari not just a revenue boost but also more control over margins and operational risk. It positions Morocco more strongly in the fintech map for Francophone Africa. Risks & Challenges Regulatory compliance and oversight will become more demanding Operational scaling (especially financial & payment operations) tends to expose weaknesses (fraud, infrastructure, liquidity) Competition: other fintechs are emerging, local and regional players may push similar business models Comparable Fintech Raises in Morocco / North Africa To help readers see where Chari’s raise sits in the broader landscape, here are several similar recent fintech / fintech-adjacent funding rounds in Morocco / North Africa, and what they suggest about trends. StartupAmount RaisedStage / NotesKey FocusSignificanceORA Technologies$7.5 million (Series A) DabafinanceJuly 2025Superapp (payments, delivery, wallet, etc.), scaling last-mile & digital cash collection in cash-dominant economy. DabafinanceShows investor appetite for superapps, especially combining commerce + payments in Morocco.PayTic$4 million (Seed extension) Empower Africa+2disruptafrica.com+2April 2025SaaS / backend payments operations automation (banks, payment processors). disruptafrica.com+1Illustrates demand for infrastructure rather than consumer-facing fintech only.WafR<head>.5 million (Seed) startupresearcher.com+1Early 2025Turning small, informal merchants into financial service hubs: cash-in/out, top-ups, remittances. startupresearcher.com+1Important in financial inclusion; a model tapping local trader / community networks.TalatyUndisclosed funding (from Witamax, Renew Capital) disruptafrica.com+1Late 2024 / early 2025AI-driven SME lending / credit platform, streamlining risk and making financing more accessible. disruptafrica.com+1Shows investors are interested in embedded credit / alternative credit risk models in Morocco. What the Trends Suggest From these comparable cases, a few patterns emerge: Super-apps + embedded finance are a hot trend. Chari and ORA are examples where the line between commerce / delivery / merchant services + financial services is blurring. Back-end financial infrastructure (payments reconciliation, automation, operations) is gaining traction (e.g. PayTic). This is a lower-visibility but essential area. Financial inclusion remains a strong theme. Startups like WafR focus on bringing services to small merchants, informal or under-banked areas. Investor base is both local and international. Many of these rounds involve regional VCs, impact investors, and global fintech funds. This signals growing confidence in Moroccan / Francophone Africa fintech. Regulatory progress matt