Algeria's ride hailing services app Yassir eyes expansion to more countries

Algerian transport services app Yassir has seen its workforce grow from five employees in 2017 to over 1,000 in six countries, and its co-founder says there is more room for growth.

"We started from nothing and now we have reached some important figures," says Mehdi Yettou, Yassir co-founder.

The popular phone app provides ride-hailing, grocery drop-off and payment services, operating in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Senegal and France.

Yettou says Yassir has 6 million users but is not stopping there as the business plans to expand further in Africa.

Last month, the business got a major boost that could help with those ambitions when investors gave Yassir funding worth $150 million.

The money was provided by a group of investors from the United States during a fundraising event.

It is a large sum compared to the $30 million that Yassir collected in all of 2021, but Yettou says he is focused on the next target.

"That is just a step and we are looking to go further," Yettou says.

Yassir, which means "easy" in Arabic, has launched dozens of supermarkets across Algeria.

From there, its drivers pick up groceries and deliver them to customers across the North African country.

Algiers resident who only provided the name Meriem has been a loyal Yassir user for the past three years.

"I use it everyday to go shopping, visit my family or go to work out. It is very affordable and they are fast," she says.