# YoLa Fresh (2023 – 2026)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/yola-fresh/
- Sector: Marketplaces
- Country: Morocco
- Total funding: $9 million
- Cause of closure: Ran out of cash

## What did it do?

YoLa Fresh was a Casablanca-based fresh fruit and vegetable sourcing platform. It combined ordering software with sourcing and delivery to connect smallholder producers with retailers and food-service businesses without middlemen: shops could order until midnight and receive produce the next morning. It was founded in 2023 by Larbi Alaoui Belrhiti, who had led Jumia's Moroccan operation, and Youssef Mamou, who had worked at Careem and headed the 212 Founders incubator.

## Why did it shut down?

On 8 October 2026 the founders confirmed to Médias24 that YoLa Fresh had ceased operations. According to Techpoint Africa, the reason was that the company could not secure sufficient financing to continue its development. The founders and shareholders are working with advisers on next steps; no decision on an asset sale, restructuring or liquidation has been announced, and neither the latest financial position nor the terms of the attempted fundraising have been disclosed.

The company raised USD 2 million in March 2023 and USD 7 million in May 2024 in a round led by Al Mada Ventures; according to the founders the disclosed total was USD 9 million, and reports of USD 20 million were inaccurate. In November 2024 Morocco's Competition Council approved Al Mada's investment vehicle taking joint control of the company's US parent. Launch Base Africa linked the closure to the funding gap in Africa between seed and pre-Series A rounds and the larger Series A rounds needed to scale.

## The story

According to an estimate by Morocco's Competition Council, between 20% and 40% of the country's fruit and vegetables are lost after harvest before reaching consumers. YoLa Fresh was founded to break the link between those losses and the chain of middlemen.

The company was founded in Casablanca in 2023 by Larbi Alaoui Belrhiti, who had led Jumia's Moroccan operation, and Youssef Mamou, who had worked at Careem and headed the 212 Founders incubator. Their models were Meicai in China, Frubana in Latin America and WayCool in India: a distribution network that buys from smallholders, takes produce straight to neighbourhood shops and collects orders through software. Shops ordered until midnight and the produce arrived the next morning.

Starting with USD 2 million in March 2023, the company raised a USD 7 million round in May 2024, led by Al Mada Ventures with Algebra Ventures, E3 Capital, Janngo Capital and the Dutch development finance institution FMO. At the time it said it served more than 1,000 retailers, reached up to USD 1 million in monthly gross merchandise volume and kept 85% of its customers. In November 2024 Al Mada's investment vehicle took joint control of the company's US parent.

On 8 October 2026 the founders confirmed that the company had ceased operations. New funding had not been found; according to the founders, the existing backing was not enough to sustain the business.

The story shows that even a startup tackling a real problem and keeping its customers can close within three years when, in a capital-hungry model, it cannot find the next round.

## Lessons

- In a marketplace that includes logistics, every new shop costs capital; cash can run out while gross merchandise volume grows. Work out in advance where you could stay profitable if the next round does not come.
- The gap between seed or pre-Series A rounds and a large Series A is a real risk in many markets; when you raise USD 7 million in 2024, plan where the next round will come from as well.
- A structure that hands control to a single strategic investor can mean other doors close when that investor does not put in new money.

## Sources

- [$9 million later, Morocco's YoLa Fresh shuts down](https://techpoint.africa/insight/techpoint-digest-1451/)
- [Moroccan Agritech Startup YoLa Fresh Shuts Down After Failing to Secure Funding](https://www.techinafrica.com/moroccan-agritech-startup-yola-fresh-shuts-down-after-failing-to-secure-funding/)
- [Moroccan agritech startup shuts down after funding shortfall](https://www.freshplaza.com/europe/article/9882413/moroccan-agritech-startup-shuts-down-after-funding-shortfall/)
- [Moroccan agritech YoLa Fresh shuts down after failing to secure fresh funding](https://www.fwdstart.me/p/moroccan-agritech-yola-fresh-shuts-down-after-failing-to-secure-fresh-funding)