Kenzz, Egypt’s mass e-commerce solution, raises $3.5 million in seed funding

Kenzz, the mass e-commerce solution bringing trustworthy online shopping to the masses in Egypt and the Middle East, has announced the completion of a US$3.5 million seed fundraiser.

“We are delighted to complete this seed fundraise, and we thank all our investors for their support. The time is ripe to fully optimize eCommerce in Egypt and MENA. 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,” said Ahmed Atef, Chief Executive Officer of Kenzz.

Outliers Venture Capital – a venture capital fund backing early-stage outlier founders in the US and MENA; HOF Capital – the global technology investment firm, Foundation Ventures, Samurai Incubate, and other investors – including angels – led the funding round.

Proceeds will be used to continue to recruit top talent, expand product categories and assemble a diverse range of products to meet the preferences and tastes of various consumer segments, invest in technology, and launch a new app soon.

Kenzz, founded this year by Ahmed Atef, Mahmoud AlSilk, and Moataz Sami, provides a leading, dependable mass ecommerce solution to the masses in Egypt and the MENA region. Kenzz’s customer-centric platform digitizes the offline experience, making it exciting, fun, and sociable for users across all customer touchpoints, while offering up to 65% discounts. Internet penetration and shopping figures conceal the fact that eCommerce in Egypt, and more broadly in MENA, has yet to be fully realized and optimized.

Kenzz’s business model is based on long-term growth rather than short-term gains and aggressive cash burn. The model entails sourcing products directly from manufacturers and importers and providing consumers with greater discounts when they share/purchase with friends and family. Kenzz is able to secure the best deals for customers by sourcing directly from manufacturers and importers. As referrals to Kenzz grow virally, the company’s acquisition costs fall even further. Group orders can also be delivered to a single location, reducing delivery fees for customers and logistics costs for Kenzz.

Kenzz is bridging the gap between traditional offline and online shopping with a model that reflects and makes easily accessible the everyday behavior and needs of the consumer masses. Kenzz addresses the primary reasons why consumers are hesitant to make online purchases: a lack of trust, the availability of bargains, complexity, a one-way transactional process, no personalization, little insightful relevancy, and redundant technology.

Kenzz’s model also helps local manufacturers and SMEs grow their businesses by providing them with data, insights, and access to potentially hard-to-reach end users.