In 2025, Ismael Belkaya led B2B e-commerce Chari through a transformation that redefined what B2B commerce could become in Morocco. The company secured a payment institution licence from Bank Al-Maghrib, granting it the authority to issue payment accounts under Moroccan IBANs, provide debit cards, and process transfers and merchant payments.
It was a decisive shift that brought thousands of cash-only retailers into the formal financial system. That regulatory milestone was matched by capital; Belkayat raised a record $12 million Series A, the largest of its kind in Morocco’s history.
With the licence in place, Chari moved beyond logistics and inventory ordering. Small retailers, many operating entirely in cash, could now accept digital payments, hold funds in regulated accounts, and access basic financial services directly through the platform. Chari has scaled to more than 20,000 active merchants across Morocco, Tunisia, and Côte d’Ivoire, using retail distribution as the on-ramp for fintech adoption.
Deepening that approach, Belkayat’s Chari rolled out a merchant super app that integrates FMCG ordering, payments, working capital, and micro-insurance. This approach embeds financial services into the daily operating system of small shops, where adoption is earned through use more than persuasion.
After its raise in October 2025, Belkayat repositioned Chari as a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform, opening its licensed financial rails to third parties across Francophone Africa.
This shift, from marketplace e-commerce to building a financial technology backbone, solidifies Chari as one of the startups powering the mass market and fintech economy in a cash-heavy economy like Morocco’s.
