Egypt’s SideUp raises $1.2M to grow its e-commerce support platform

After four years operating primarily as a logistics marketplace, Egypt’s Voo has rebranded to SideUp and transformed its strategy to offer a complete spectrum of e-commerce support services, including payment gateways, API integration for shipping, warehousing, fulfillment, and advisory.

The startup has also expanded to Saudi Arabia, where it will be headquartered henceforth, after raising $1.2 million seed funding. This latest round had the participation of Launch Africa VC, 500 Global, Riyadh Angels, Alex Angels, Al Tuwaijri Fund and Saudi angel investor Faisal AlAbdulsalam.

SideUp founder and CEO Waleed Rashed told TechCrunch he was inspired to link small merchants to e-commerce support, after realizing they were ignored by large service providers.

“There is a lot of talk about how e-commerce is scaling, but still, we are not empowering enough of those (micro, small and medium enterprises) that are selling online. Merchants need many services and a complete ecosystem to be successful,” said Rashed.