Riyadh-headquartered tech startup Rewaa has secured 100M Saudi riyals (approximately $26.6M) through a Series A funding cycle, with the primary investment coming from Saudi Aramco’s venture capital division, Wa’ed Ventures.
Additionally, Saudi Telecom Company’s Corporate Innovation Fund, initiated in February to back fledgling tech enterprises, also joined in the funding effort. This move marked the CIF’s inaugural investment in the kingdom since its launch.
The funding round saw participation from other backers, including Silicon Valley’s Graphene Ventures, Sadu Capital, Vision Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, RZM Investment, Derayah VC, and Abdulrahman Sulaiman Al Rajhi and Sons Investment Company, as disclosed in a statement by Wa’ed, according to The National News.
Established in 2018, Rewaa functions as an inventory management platform tailored for the retail sector. The startup, operating under a software-as-a-service model, furnishes retailers with an integrated cloud-based solution that harmonizes the inventory of both online and physical stores. Additionally, the platform encompasses point-of-sale and accounting modules, providing a comprehensive unified framework.
According to the statement, Rewaa has already facilitated transactions worth over 7B riyals to date, extending its services to more than 7,000 retailers within the kingdom and overseas. This effort has also contributed to generating over 250 local job opportunities.
“This investment propels us towards our vision of becoming the optimal technological partner for small and medium-sized businesses in the retail sector,” said Mohammed Alqasir, co-founder and chief executive at Rewaa.
“By contributing to the industry’s digital transformation through the creation of a globally competitive product, we aim to make a significant impact on retail merchants.”
Saudi Arabia’s Technology Landscape and Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia is vigorously championing and cultivating its technology landscape, a pivotal element of its Vision 2030 economic initiative aimed at reducing dependency on oil.
In recent weeks, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia unveiled a $200M fund designated to back local and international high-tech enterprises, aligning with the nation’s push for economic diversification. This initiative is an integral component of the fresh strategy from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
In February, Saudi Arabia disclosed investments surpassing $9B in its technology sector during the Leap conference. Simultaneously, at the event, Saudi entities introduced nine funds collectively amounting to $2.4B, intended to foster the advancement of startups within the largest economy in the Arab world, with a specific emphasis on technology.
Wa’ed Ventures stands as a $500M institutional venture capital firm, fully owned by Saudi Aramco. It operates with the mission of encouraging economic diversification and nurturing new business ventures within the kingdom by injecting funds into high-growth technology startups spanning various sectors.
Having been founded in 2013, Wa’ed Ventures currently oversees a portfolio of around 60 startups.
“Rewaa’s revolutionary approach to digitising and optimising operational processes based on efficiency and scale-up goals for SMEs perfectly addresses the needs of the typically-scattered retail industry,” said Fahad Alidi, managing director at Wa’ed Ventures.
