Most people in French-speaking Africa are unbanked due to a lack of trust in incumbents and inefficient banking solutions. Yassir’s founder felt that providing on-demand services — which solves essential needs and, more importantly, builds trust to then provide payment services — was the catalyst to enable financial inclusion in the region.
The company started with ride-hailing services and progressed to offer last-mile delivery services, creating a multi-sided marketplace that brings drivers, couriers, merchants, suppliers, and wholesalers to individual users on one platform. With 3 out of 5 on-demand transactions in Algeria now made via Yassir, it's eyeing payment services next to truly build a super app.
The company’s Series B funding of $150 million in 2022 is supercharging its growth and development of new services in the existing markets. And now the company operates in 45 cities across Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia and recently expanded into France, Canada and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The company is battling two major challenges: competition and bureaucracy. It's no secret that Uber is a dangerous competitor to go up against, though Yassir intends to improve on the failings of Uber subsidiary Careem in several intended marketplaces. Moreover, each of the countries Yassir serves has a unique regulatory environment that must be navigated. So far, Yassir hasn’t shown any signs that these issues are slowing it down.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
