Toters, Lebanon-based super app which has been operational in Iraq since 2019, raised $15 million in a Series B round, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), March Holding and B&Y Ventures.
Founded in 2017 by Tamim Khalfa and Nael Halwani, toters began as a food delivery platform before adopting a super app strategy, offering several services including grocery delivery, courier services, payment and financial transaction services on its platform.
“toters and other logistics platforms can serve as a key infrastructure layer within digital economies because they create earning opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs, which are the couriers, digitise small and medium-sized enterprises, and offer a platform upon which multiple digital services can be built,” Anissa Kanoun, MEANP regional lead for IFC’s venture capital (VC) team, said.
Toters will use the recent funding to accelerate its expansion in Iraq by onboarding more restaurant partners and retailers as well as couriers.
“Iraq offers a tremendous market opportunity; it has a large population, mostly youth who are increasingly tech-savvy. We just saw an opportunity as toters had been able to be successful in Lebanon, despite the presence of large international incumbents. COVID, despite its significant devastation, is the catalyst for digitisation, with growing online penetration, growing consumers and companies doing more online than ever before, we thought this was the right time to invest in a platform like toters,” Anissa added.
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