YCombinator-backed Flextock Raises $3.25m, Largest ever Pre-seed Round in MENA

Egyptian tech-enabled logistics startup, Flextock has raised pre-seed funding of $3.25 million. This marks the largest pre-seed round closed by a startup in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Participating investors in the round include Egyptian VC, Foundation Ventures, Y Combinator, CRE Ventures, B&Y Ventures Partners, Alter Global, Abdul Latif Jameel Technology Fund, Access Bridge Ventures and MSA Capital. 

Among other investors were an undisclosed Sequoia Capital scout and investors from the Arab States’ Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Flextock’s latest raise exceeds that of fellow Egyptian YC-backed startup, Dayra, which raised a $3 million record pre-seed in March. The company has now raised a total funding of $4.1 million.

Founded by Mohamed Mossaad and Enas Siamby in September 2020, Flextock enables seamless e-commerce deliveries for consumers and businesses. The startup is one of the ten (10) African startups to have been accepted into the Y Combinator Winter 2021 batch.

Backed with new funding, Flextock plans to scale its logistics solution across the MENA region and reach up to 1 million merchants.

We are on a mission to enable more than 1 million merchants in Africa and the Middle East to sell online without carrying out the hassle of running their own operations.

Mohamed Mossaad, CEO Flextock

Operating a hybrid B2B and B2C model, Flextock caters to the logistics needs of individuals and companies, handling everything from warehousing to delivery and cash payments. The startup achieves this by partnering with existing logistics companies in Egypt.

Flextock offers merchants a dashboard to track orders, monitor their shipping process and last-mile delivery sales. Flextock makes its money by charging merchants a flat fee which varies with the volume of items shipped.

The eight-month-old startup says it has delivered over 300,000 monthly orders across 28 cities with a 99% fulfilment rate since it commenced operations.