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Rabat – Chari, Morocco’s leading e-commerce startup, received on Tuesday the “Disrupter of the Year” award at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Sponsored by the financial services company Visa, the “Disrupter of the Year” trophy celebrates startups that introduced innovative activities in numerous sectors including financial inclusion.
This year, Morocco’s startup Chair was nominated for the award along with Egypt’s telehealth platform Vezeeta, Algeria’s transportation e-platform Yassir, Ivorian logistics company Paps, and Nigeria’s crude vegetable oil producer Releaf.
Commenting on Chari’s nomination prior to the award ceremony, the startup’s co-founder Ismael Belkhayat said it was “amazing to see Chari, a 2 years old company, among this list of great African Startups highlighted at the Africa CEO Forum.”
This week, a five-member jury chose Chari as the winner of the “Disrupter of the Year” a few days after the Moroccan startup acquired Ivorian retail app Diago.
The jury that voted in favor of Chari included key leaders in the e-business sector, such as Elizabeth Medou Badang, Senior Vice President at Orange Middle East and Africa; Obi Ozor, CEO of Kobo360; Ayeni, head of ventures at IFC; Veronica Ogeto, head of ventures at Safaricom; and Hassananein Hiridjee, CEO of Axian Group, also the winner of the CEO of the Year award.
As well as receiving a prestigious African award, Chari has in the past 10 months completed three acquisition deals — including a $22 million deal for Axa Credit, and the purchase of retail bookkeeping app Karny.
Read Also: Chari: Leading Moroccan E-Commerce, Moving to Conquer French-Speaking Africa
Besides the celebration of Chari’s achievements, the Africa CEO Forum awarded three companies operating across the African continent, giving them the titles of Gender Leader, International Company, and Africa Champion.
Notably, the African Export-Import Bank obtained the African Champion prize for its efforts in promoting African economic integration through private sector investments.
As for the Gender Leader and International Company trophies, they went to Orange and Development Partners International — stressing their work in promoting women’s leadership and positively impacting Africa’s socio-economic sectors.
Over 1,800 participants from 70 countries attended the Africa CEO Forum, including key decision-makers in the private and public sectors from Africa and beyond.
The event organized by Jeune Afrique Media Group and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has celebrated Moroccan achievers in different editions. Mohamed El Kettani, the leader of Attijariwafa Bank, received the “CEO of the Year” award for 2019, succeeding the previous year’s winner, Morocco’s current Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah.
“This award places Chari on top of the African Continent [and] is a great honor for the whole Chari team,” co-founder of Chari, Ismael Belkhayat told Morocco World. “It is proof that a Moroccan startup can be successful and scale regionally. It is only the beginning of a long list of Moroccan startups that will shine over the African Continent.”
