JEDDAH, July 12 (Arab News): Riyadh-based startup Speero, a platform offering automobile after-sales and repair services, has raised $1.8 million in pre-Series A funding from regional venture capital funds.
The investment drive was led by Riyadh and Dubai-based Nuwa Capital and Dubai-based Eq2 Ventures, with additional input from Abu Dhabi-based Access Bridge Ventures, Zurich-based Mountain Partners and Saudi Arabia's Jameel Investment Management Company.
Speero was founded in Riyadh in 2017 by Abdullah Bin Shamlan and Ameen Mahfouz, and the platform is used by more than 1,000 partners and service providers. It has collected over 750,000 registered customers from all over the Kingdom. Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Audi, and Honda are among the brands found on the website
"The automotive after-sales value chain hasn't evolved in this digital era. Vendors seek solutions that will help create access to growth opportunities, while customers today want a convenient, affordable and digital first approach to their vehicle ownership experience. With Speero we are building just that," Bin Shamlan, co-founder and managing director at Speero, said in a statement.
Speero plans to use the funding to develop its logistics infrastructure, with the creation of fully automated, cloud-based warehouses for partners in Riyadh and Jeddah. It also plans to expand its management team in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Saudi fashion e-commerce platform Nejree has secured $15 million to fund the expansion of a service allowing customers to try goods on at home before buying them.
The money was from Saudi venture capital fund Impact46 and brings the total that Nejree has raised so far to $19 million, after it was awarded $4 million in December 2019.
Founded in 2018 by Ibrahim Al-Mogren, Nejree originally sold footwear but has since expanded into clothing. It sells brands such as Adidas, Nike, Lacoste, Puma, Under Armour, Reebok and Converse.
Its new element is Nejree Closet, which is a free service where customers can try on footwear or clothes at home before they commit to a purchase.
Nejree Closet has so far shipped around 100,000 items and the company said the addition had resulted in a 50 per cent increase in the average order value.
