Egyptian start-up FlapKap raises $1.2m to fuel growth

From left, Amr Gamal, Ahmad Coucha, Khaled Nassef and Sherif Bichara, founding team members of Egyptian start-up FlapKap. Photo: FlapKap

Egyptian start-up FlapKap, which specialises in e-commerce solutions, raised $1.2 million in its latest funding round to expand into new markets and improve its technology.

The round was led by Egypt-based early-stage venture capital firm A15.

Founded this year, FlapKap primarily caters to e-commerce and software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses.

The company offers artificial intelligence-based insights to help businesses optimise their advertising spend and maximise profits. It also offers clients revenue-based flexible payment plans on their advertising spend to ensure sustainable growth without cash constraints.

“We have taken a proven international business model and adapted it for the Middle East … our solution empowers SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] and start-ups to grow sustainably, without losing equity, and to help manage their cashflows,” said Ahmad Coucha, co-founder and chief executive of FlapKap.

“With a first mover advantage and a huge market opportunity, we are excited to extend the growth opportunities we have unlocked for our early clients to the whole region.”

FlapKap’s market opportunity is huge.

The e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa region is fast catching up with mature markets such as China, with many online retailers scaling up their services to avoid Covid-induced disruptions, a recent report by EZDubai, an e-commerce zone in Dubai South, and Euromonitor International said

The total e-commerce market size in the region is expected to reach $49 billion in 2025, surging from $31.7bn last year, it added.

Strong internet penetration rates, high possession of digital devices, rising incomes, improving logistic advancements and the presence of global players in the market are driving e-commerce adoption in the region, industry experts said.

FlapKap said it expects the e-commerce market to grow rapidly due to the Covid-induced accelerated adoption of online solutions in the region.

The start-up, which currently operates in the UAE and Egypt, also plans to launch its services in Saudi Arabia — the Arab world’s biggest economy — in the coming months.

And following its recent funding, the start-up has plans to expand even further into the Middle East and Africa region.

“A15 is proud to lead the fundraise for FlapKap … [it] is not only a visionary company with an excellent business model, but it is creating real tangible value for the region by helping SMEs grow,” said Karim Beshara, general partner at A15.

“It also has a first mover advantage in a significant market, all of which creates a very bright future.”