CardoO, an Egyptian start-up that develops smart devices, raised $660,000 in a seed funding round that will help it to grow market share in the region and boost technology manufacturing.
The investment round was led by Alexandria Angels, an network based in Egypt, with the participation of angel investors from Saudi Arabia, Belgium-based Sofico Investments and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Cairo-based company said in a statement on Monday.
CardoO develops products including smart weighing scales, wireless earbuds, smart watches, gaming controllers, sketch tablets and virtual reality goggles, and has about 120,000 users, according to its website.
It has sold more than 100,000 different devices and provides its products through more than 1,000 retail units across Egypt, the statement said.
“This investment will allow the company to improve its products and introduce the first superior application for IoT [Internet of things], in addition to enabling local manufacturers to produce consumer electronics for IoT under our brand name,” its chief executive Ahmed Adel said.
“We aim to provide them with high-quality technologies to local markets to make Egypt an important hub for consumer electronics for IoT in emerging countries.”
CardoO aims to acquire about $200 million worth of the emerging technologies market share in the Middle East and Africa in the next five years, he added.
Egypt is banking on start-ups to help boost its technology industry.
Venture capital funding in Egypt more than doubled to $307m in the first half of 2022 from a year earlier, ranking it third in the Mena region, according to start-up data platform Magnitt.
The number of deals in the country grew by 22 per cent annually to 78 during the first six months of the year.
Meanwhile, the number of smart home devices shipped across the Middle East and Turkey hit 7.3 million in the first quarter of 2022, which is an annual increase of almost 22 per cent, the latest study from the International Data Corporation shows.
Revenue in Egypt's smart home market is expected to hit $486.4m by 2026 from about $260m in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate of more than 17 per cent, data from Statista shows.
The region's overall smart device market is a huge opportunity for CardoO, with consumers in the MEA region spending about $25 billion annually on this market, the statement said.
The start-up aims to exploit the lower costs of its products to attract more users, it said.
“Some consumer segments feel that consumer electronics supported by IoT are expensive,” Mr Adel said.
The start-up has signed partnerships with local factories, as well as international research and development centres to make their devices affordable, he said.
The company recently signed a partnership with Amazon, the world's largest online marketplace, to sell its products through the latter's platform.
It also has similar deals with other online players, in addition to agreements with consumer electronics distribution companies.
Aside from Amazon, it also counts logistics major Aramex, Dubai-based online platform Noon, retailer Virgin Megastore and the Mobile World Congress as its partners.
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The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
