A quiet but consequential shift is underway in Algeria’s startup ecosystem. As early investors in local startup Moustachir SPA prepare to receive dividends next week, the company’s pioneering use of the Algiers Stock Exchange to fund its growth is drawing attention — and setting a precedent.
On April 17, 2025, Moustachir’s shareholders approved the company’s 2024 financial accounts, confirming a net profit of DZD 6.43 million ($48,000). The company will distribute DZD 5 million in dividends — DZD 8 per share — starting June 1, 2025, a modest but symbolically significant return for early backers of the first Algerian startup to go public on the local exchange.
The payout follows Moustachir’s historic IPO in December 2024, during which it offered 125,000 new shares at DZD 760 each (~$5.70), raising approximately DZD 94.4 million ($707,000). The company sold 25% of its capital to Algerian retail and institutional investors via the growth compartment of the Algiers Stock Exchange — an experimental listing route for SMEs and startups.
The listing was approved by the country’s financial markets regulator, COSOB (Commission for the Organization and Supervision of Stock Exchange Operations), which also oversaw the preparation of the offering’s prospectus and disclosure documents. Moustachir’s shares were dematerialized and registered electronically, with subscription open to resident individuals, employees, and local entities.
This model — retaining control while raising public funds — differs sharply from the venture capital and private equity path most African startups pursue. For Moustachir, it’s a strategic attempt to root its growth trajectory in local capital and broaden shareholder participation beyond a small circle of wealthy angels or institutional funds.
Experiment with Implications
Founded in 2022, Moustachir SPA offers a mix of digital-first consulting and platform services. Its core product is an e-consulting platform connecting Algerian and international experts with local businesses and individuals. The company also operates several complementary ventures:
- IDARATI, a digital business management solution
- Moustachir Com, a communications advisory
- Moustachir Academy, a skills development initiative
- Coworking spaces for startups and freelancers
- Open Innovation programs, facilitating collaborations between companies and external experts
- Market entry support for foreign companies establishing a presence in Algeria
Despite its relatively small size — 500,000 shares with a nominal value of DZD 40 each — Moustachir’s public listing is being closely watched as a test case. If it succeeds in using capital markets to grow without heavy equity dilution or dependence on foreign investors, it could encourage other Algerian startups to follow suit.
According to sources close to COSOB, several more startups have made preliminary inquiries about listing in the growth compartment. The regulator, for its part, views the initiative as a step toward deepening domestic capital markets and enhancing financial inclusion in startup financing.
What Comes Next
The listing also places new responsibilities on Moustachir. As a public company, it must adhere to disclosure requirements, submit to regular audits, and ensure its governance practices meet public market standards — requirements many early-stage startups are often unprepared to meet.
Yet Moustachir appears to be leaning into the transparency. The company says it will make its information notice and investor documents available via COSOB, the Algiers Stock Exchange (SGBV), and its own website. In a statement to shareholders, the firm emphasized its commitment to “governance, transparency, and gratitude to everyone who placed their trust in the foundation’s path.”
Invest Market SPA, the broker that advised on the listing, praised COSOB for its role in shepherding the process and signaled that more such listings could be on the horizon.
The dividend announcement, while modest in financial terms, is a milestone for Algeria’s capital markets — and a proof point for the viability of local equity funding models for startups. For investors who took a chance on a little-known startup just six months ago, it’s also a tangible return, and a signal that their early belief in a new funding path may be starting to pay off.