ZSystems Raises $1.65M Seed to Digitise Morocco Retail

In Short

ZSystems has raised $1.65 million in seed funding to digitise Morocco’s traditional retail supply chain. The Casablanca startup wants to help neighbourhood shops called hanouts move from paper and phone calls to software-based ordering.

What Happened

The round was led by Azur Innovation Management. Existing backers MNF Ventures and Witamax also participated.

The round included the Harambeans Prosperity Fund, which Tech In Africa reports is ZSystems’ first international institutional investor. The funding brings the company’s total raised to $2.7 million, after an earlier pre-seed round.

Founded in 2022, ZSystems says it is building a B2B2C marketplace. That means a platform that serves businesses and their customers, by connecting brands and wholesalers to retailers in one workflow.

ZSystems is targeting what it describes as a $40 billion market that is still largely offline. The company is focusing on intermediation, meaning it aims to sit between existing players to improve sourcing, pricing, and distribution, instead of trying to replace wholesalers.

Why It Matters

Traditional retail still makes up a big share of Morocco’s day-to-day commerce, even as modern supermarkets grow. If software can reduce stockouts, improve price transparency, and make deliveries more predictable, small shops can operate with less cash tied up in inventory.

ZSystems says it is supported by the EBRD Star Venture programme and Amazon Web Services, which can help with technical scaling. The company has also been designated by Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade as a national digital intermediation platform, with a goal of onboarding 50,000 retailers by 2030.

The startup plans to use the new capital for product development and expansion in Morocco, with an eye on North Africa over time.