Lebanon’s on-demand delivery app, Toters, has raised $18 million in a Series B round led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the development arm of the World Bank Group, and other groups of investors.
Toters, which was founded by Nael Halwani and Tamim Khalfa in 2017, began as a food delivery platform and then developed by adopting other strategies, offering services such as grocery delivery and courier services.
The platform, which has been operational in Iraq since 2019, will be able to expand in the country by partnering with more restaurants and retailers.
According to Anissa Kanoun, MEANP regional lead for IFC’s venture capital (VC) team, toters can serve as a leading infrastructure in digital economies, as they create more opportunities.
“We just saw an opportunity as Toters had been able to be successful in Lebanon, despite the presence of large international incumbents. Covid, despite its significant devastation, is the catalyst for digitization […], we thought this was the right time to invest in a platform like Toters,” Anissa added.
Toters was previously listed with 4 other Lebanese-led startups among Forbes’ Top 50 most funded startups in the Middle East in 2021.