Participated · Seed · Feb 2026

Qureos is a Dubai, UAE-based company offering an AI-driven hiring platform that automates sourcing, screening and interviewing for enterprise recruiters. Its technology matches candidates to roles across the broader market by analysing fit and growth potential, aiming to shorten time-to-hire and improve placement quality. Built in the Middle East, the platform already serves customers and candidates across MENA and in the United States. The company was founded by Alexander Epure and Usama Nini. Qureos plans to deepen its artificial-intelligence capabilities, enlarge its go-to-market organisation and expand geographically through enterprise and agency partnerships. The recently raised US$5 million seed round provides the financial runway to execute these initiatives.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2026

Paycrest is building infrastructure that converts stablecoins to local fiat currencies, addressing liquidity constraints that hamper day-to-day payments and remittances in Africa. By smoothing the on- and off-ramp between digital dollars and naira, the startup aims to make cross-border and domestic payments faster and more affordable. The company positions itself at the intersection of traditional finance and web3, attracting interest from both specialised crypto investors and generalist VCs. Its core product centres on providing reliable liquidity pools and settlement rails for merchants, consumers, and other fintechs that need instant conversion between stablecoins and local currency. Although still at the pre-revenue, pre-product-market-fit stage, Paycrest’s ability to secure external financing underscores investor confidence in its technical approach and market opportunity. The fresh capital will be channelled toward product development, regulatory compliance, and initial market roll-out. No operating metrics such as user numbers or revenues have been disclosed.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2022

TFK operates a curated omnichannel marketplace offering shoes, beauty, personal care, accessories and home fashion items, with features like a virtual fitting room and outfit recommendations. The platform positions itself as a digital partner to brands, providing operations, fulfillment, co-marketing and digital content creation services. It monetizes via product mark-ups, consignment commissions, and fees for ancillary services such as photography and marketing. The marketplace hosts over 200 brands and serves more than 150,000 customers, with roughly 40% of monthly sales from returning customers and brands growing 10–15% month-over-month. Total sales volume grew threefold from April 2021 to April 2022. The company plans to use funding to scale technology, expand the team, and optimize operations and end-customer experience; its workforce is 43% female and 50% of managers are women.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2022

Cartona is an asset-light B2B e-commerce marketplace that connects FMCG suppliers and wholesalers with retailers, offering technology, fulfillment, and embedded finance to improve supply-chain efficiency. The platform serves FMCG and a growing HORECA vertical while partnering with local suppliers rather than displacing them. Cartona reported annualized GMV of about EGP 10 billion (~$210M), up from EGP 2.3 billion (~$120M) in 2022, and now supports more than 180,000 retailers, 4,500 suppliers across 17 Egyptian cities, and over 40,000 SKUs. HORECA currently represents ~7% of GMV but yields double the blended take rates and average order value versus FMCG; the company expects HORECA to reach 15% of GMV by year-end. Cartona is very close to reaching full EBITDA profitability and has improved unit economics while shifting most merchant credit to local-currency financing. Embedded finance now constitutes more than 20% of Cartona's GMV (up from 2–3% in 2022), supporting inventory financing and financial inclusion for small merchants. The company plans to deepen operations in Egypt, expand the HORECA vertical and other product lines, and may pursue regional expansion, including Saudi Arabia. Cartona operates an asset-light B2B e-commerce marketplace that lets buyers order inventory from a network of curated sellers via an app with promotion tools and a market-insights dashboard. The company integrates technical connections with large manufacturers and warehouses and embeds BNPL into the order flow, allowing repayment with each product shipment. Cartona currently lends from its balance sheet but expects to secure credit lines and venture debt from partners by January next year. Management says the business is pursuing sustainable growth and positive unit economics in every city as it scales toward profitability. Operational metrics disclosed include 60,000+ merchants, over 1 million transactions, an annualized gross merchandise value of EGP 2.3 billion (~$120M), 1,500+ distributors and wholesalers, and relationships with roughly 200 FMCG companies. The startup launched in 2020 and has expanded from three cities to 11, with plans to cover all of Egypt's governorates and explore new verticals beyond FMCG. Founded in August 2020 and based in Cairo, Cartona operates an asset-light marketplace that connects retailers (buyers) with FMCG companies, distributors and wholesalers (sellers) through a single app. The platform provides real-time price comparisons, delivery-time visibility, an inventory and ordering system, and analytics to help suppliers optimize go-to-market execution. Cartona also offers embedded finance and access to credit for retailers and suppliers. Its revenue model includes commissions on orders, charging suppliers for advertising to merchants, and selling market insights on buyer behavior, price competition and market share. The company reports over 30,000 merchants on the platform, more than 400,000 orders processed, an annualized gross merchandise value of EGP 1 billion (~$64 million), and partnerships with over 1,000 distributors/wholesalers and 100 FMCG companies offering 10,000+ products. Cartona is expanding its team and operations beyond Cairo and Alexandria and is considering horizontal and vertical product expansion into pharmaceuticals, electronics and fashion.