B2B startup Cartona allies with Unilever to expand services in Egypt

Cartona, one of the fastest-growing B2B e-commerce marketplaces, is reportedly collaborating with Unilever, a British multinational consumer goods company, to help add more offerings to retailers, distributors, and suppliers in the Egyptian marketplace.

The main objective of Cartona is to digitize the trading system in Egypt, which is still majorly operated offline. With this partnership, Unilever will get access to Cartona’s digital network of around 60,000 retailers across the region. Similarly, customers of Cartona will be getting access to Unilever products more easily.

Mahmoud Talaat, Cartona's CEO, said that the firm is pleased to be collaborating with Unilever, a multinational consumer goods company that holds a strong presence in Egypt. This collaboration will empower both parties to offer unique solutions, transforming the traditional trade of Egypt and enlarging the potential user base across various governorates.

This collaboration also intends to back Unilever's expansion plans in the market of Egypt ahead of a promising stage in the long and short term together, said Mr. Talaat.

Khaled Radwan, Unilever eCommerce Channel Manager for North Africa, said that the firm had witnessed more activity in the Egypt business-to-business (B2B) investment inflows in the last few years.

This year, Unilever is targeting eCommerce and B2B investment and this partnership with Cartona will empower the firm to reach this goal productively, in line with local market needs.

Recently, Unilever also announced an organizational restructuring that came with laying off of 1,500 staff and building five business groups for replacing its old structure.

Unilever was prearranged into five areas: Beauty and Wellbeing; Home Care; Personal Care; Nutrition; and Ice Cream, all of them responsible and accessible fully for helping the company's growth.

Unilever CEO Alan Jope said that the new model had been designed for constantly stepping up the performance of its business.

Shifting towards five category-focused business groups will empower the firm to be more approachable to consumer and channel trends, with transparent accountability for delivery, said Alan.

Source Credit - https://www.pymnts.com/news/ecommerce/2022/egyptian-b2b-ecommerce-startup-cartona-partners-with-unilever/