Egyptian mass e-commerce platform Kenzz said Tuesday that it raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by Outliers Venture Capital as the company seeks to grow its product categories, widen the product categories on its platform, hire talent and invest in tech as it launches its app.
Kenzz said in a statement that HOF Capital, Foundation Ventures and Samurai Incubate also participated in the fundraising round. Through the platform, users can buy products directly from manufacturers and importers. The platform also claims to offer discounts when consumers buy with friends and family up to 65%.
Founded this year by Ahmed Atef, Mahmoud AlSilk and Moataz Sami, Kenzz bridges what the startup firm called “the gap between traditional offline and online shopping” while addressing the primary reasons consumers are reluctant to purchase online.
“We have designed Kenzz to appeal specifically to people not yet convinced that eCommerce is a practical and mainstream mode of shopping. We are revolutionizing the shopping experience to deliver relevancy, convenience, trust and value, and look forward to the future with great confidence,” Ahmed Atef, CEO of Kenzz said in a statement.
Kenzz said that its business model is built around sustainability, eschewing growth at any cost and aggressive cash burn. The company generates revenues by commission from sales through its platform and it claims that it delivers thousands of orders across Egypt—with 50% of its customers outside the country’s major cities.
