Cococart vs Hermes Robotics

About

Cococart is a no-code e-commerce platform that enables local businesses — food entrepreneurs, home bakers, artisan vendors, and small retailers — to create a professional online store and accept orders in minutes, primarily serving markets where WhatsApp ordering and informal commerce are the starting point. Founded in 2020 and a Y Combinator W21 graduate, Cococart raised $4.32 million from Forerunner Ventures and Sequoia Capital, supporting 40,000+ businesses across 90+ countries and facilitating over 500,000 orders generating $15 million+ in merchant earnings.\n\nCococart's storefront builder requires no technical skills — business owners set up a branded online store page with product photos, pricing, and ordering options in a few minutes. Customers can browse and order through the storefront link (which business owners share via WhatsApp, Instagram, or social media), and payments are processed directly. The platform handles order notifications, inventory tracking, and delivery scheduling. This workflow bridges the gap between informal WhatsApp order coordination and full e-commerce infrastructure, serving the large informal small business economy across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.\n\nIn 2025, Cococart competes with Shopify (much more complex, higher cost for its target market), and regional competitors including Storehub and GoBiz for the micro-business e-commerce enablement segment. The platform's geographic breadth (90+ countries) reflects the global nature of informal micro-commerce transitioning digital. Sequoia Capital's backing signals confidence in the size of the addressable market for simple commerce infrastructure at the bottom of the merchant pyramid. The 2025 strategy focuses on growing merchant adoption in high-density informal commerce markets, adding payment method integrations for local payment rails across different regions, and building features for food business compliance (allergen labeling, pre-order management).