The African super app platform raised $150 million in Series B funding, five times what it raised in its previous priced round.
BOND is a growth-stage firm that was spun out of Kleiner Perkins. The Continuity Fund is one of the investors in the growth round.
Since its launch in Algeria, the African startup has raised $193.25 million. The most valuable startup in North Africa and one of the highest-valued startup in Africa and the Middle East is currently unknown.
The plan was to build a super app that included services people in the French-speaking Maghreb region had little or no access to. It has been a success so far. Three out of five on-demand activities in Algeria are made via the platform, according to a report.
The growth has moved the company closer to providing banking and payments. One reason most Africans are unbanked is due to the fact that Yassir gained users' trust by providing on-demand services.
According to a McKinsey report on growth and innovation in African retail banking, over half of the African population lacks a bank account. Providing consumers with a mobile banking solution as part of a broader suite of services will meet an essential need in the African market where half of the population can access the internet.
The business model was to get into payments. The number one reason people don't trust the banking systems is because they are unbanked, according to the chief executive. We thought we could offer on-demand services that solved immediate needs. If we executed well, we could have a large user base that subconsciously trusts us.
A single-point solution for managing their day-to- day activities, from traveling to work to ordering groceries and meals, is provided by Yassir. 8 million users and 100,000 partners make up the multi-sided marketplace, which is served by its financial services. This network, which also includes a B2B e-commerce retail part that connects fast- moving consumer goods with merchants, is one of the reasons why Yassir is using it.
The image is titled "Yasis."
What is the next step for the YC-backed platform? The first thing we want to do is create a local tech startup success model. The chief executive said that they want to empower the local talent and the technical talent which leaves the region to pursue further studies or find jobs.
The startup plans to invest a lot in its engineering and product teams. He said that the funding will help the company consolidate its growth, roll out new services in the existing markets, and expand into new countries in Africa and the Middle East.
"Although we like to consider ourselves as leaders in the Maghreb region, we're just scratching the surface, and there's still a lot of room to grow" His confidence comes from the fact that Careem has struggled.
Algeria’s Yassir picks up $30M to build a super app in North Africa
The five Africa-focused startups that have closed mega-rounds this year are: The self-proclaimed most valuable startup in North Africa is one of five that made the cut. This reduced number is a stark example of how quickly markets change and reflects ongoing global macroeconomic challenges that have seen startup layoffs, slashed valuations, or go bust. It wasn't the case with Yassir, according to Tayebi, who claims it wasn't the case.
He said that the region they operate in made it difficult to raise money in their first few years. The push to be frugal and conscious of unit economics pushed us. We were able to show that we had grown with outstanding unit economics. Because we grew so much, we were able to raise more money.
According to Daegwon Chae, a general partner at BOND, his firm's lead investment in Yassir stands on the sentiment that technology will "rearchitect" consumers' relationships with transportation, food, and financial services around the world. The investment is an extension of that belief. The app has become essential to users for critical aspects of their lives.
Mary Meeker’s Bond has closed its second fund with $2 billion
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