Saudi digitization startup Retailo raises $36mln

$500b is the value of the retail industry in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region, consisting of more than 10 million small businesses.

Retailo, the fastest growing startup in Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan, which is digitizing the region’s retail supply chains, has raised $36 million in its series A investment round, which was a mix of equity and venture debt. Retailo is a regional B2B marketplace in MENAP and has raised a total investment of $45 million in less than 1.5 years of operations, a landmark for any startup in the region.

The Saudi startup’s series A round has attracted leading investors with proven track records of impactful investments. The round was led by Silicon Valley-based Graphene Ventures, and included other investors such as 500 Global, Agility, Aujan, Tech Invest Com and Mentor’s Fund, all of which have the relevant exposure and investments in the retail industry’s technology companies. The venture debt was raised from Nahda Fund — one of the Middle East’s first venture debt funds, which is backed by IMM Investment Global, based in Hong Kong. Additionally, Shorooq Partners, Abercross Holdings, Arzan VC and AgFunder also participated in the round as repeat investors.

Retail in MENAP is a $500 billion industry and consists of more than 10 million small businesses. However, the majority of this retail industry is informal and not digitized. Retailo aims to champion these small business owners by building a suite of technologies around them. The company has begun this via their B2B community commerce platform, which is used by more than 50,000 retailers monthly.

On Retailo’s mobile platform, small businesses can find a wide catalogue of over 5,000 SKUs, which are delivered to their doorstep within 24 hours. They can also avail buy-now-pay-later services, which give them flexible payment options and credit lines.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Retailo was founded by former Careem executives Talha Ansari, Wahaj Ahmed and Mohammad Nowkhaiz in July 2020. Growth has been quick and in only 18 months, Retailo has scaled to more than 10 cities in three countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan.

Nabil A. Borhanu, partner at Graphene Ventures, said: “We are impressed with what Retailo has achieved in an astonishingly short time. Their vision is both ambitious and inspiring and we believe that partnering with them is a sound business investment and also a chance to truly improve the lives of millions of people.”

The series A funding will help Retailo move into the next phase of expansion into new geographies, verticals and products. Retailo’s CEO Ansari said: “The retail sector serves 700 million persons in MENAP, contributes almost 20 percent to the GDP and employs tens of millions. By providing technology solutions to this underserved market, we are not only improving lives but also uplifting the economy of the entire MENAP region.”