Egypt-based ariika, a home décor e-commerce platform, has successfully concluded its Series A equity funding round, with Beltone Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Beltone Financial Holding, acquiring a significant 20% stake. Founded in 2016 by Khaled Attallah and Shahir Arslan, ariika operates as a direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce platform that collaborates with artisans globally to curate and create modern décor brands. The primary objective of this investment is to fuel ariika’s growth and facilitate its regional expansion throughout the MENA region, with the initial focus being on Saudi Arabia in the fourth quarter of 2023. This investment is poised to revolutionize the $20 billion home and décor industry in the MENA region by capitalizing on the platform’s strategic positioning and its ability to consolidate a fragmented market.
Why the Investors Invested
Investors’ decision to invest in ariika can be attributed to several compelling factors. In the first place, ariika is positioned to disrupt and transform the MENA home and décor market, which boasts a CAGR of approximately 10%. The company has already demonstrated remarkable growth since its inception in 2016, achieving a CAGR of over 85% and serving a substantial customer base of more than 800,000 worldwide. Additionally, ariika has diversified its revenue streams by completing over 3,000 projects with major real estate developers and industry leaders in the region, with export activities accounting for more than 15% of its business.
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Furthermore, ariika’s approach emphasizes digital innovation, focusing on delivering an exceptional online and offline customer experience, offering a superior product assortment, and maintaining reasonable price points. As macro trends favor the growth of e-commerce in the long term, Beltone Venture Capital recognized the potential for ariika to capture a significant market share by combining its operational excellence with a design-led, digital-first approach.
Ali Mokhtar, Beltone Venture Capital’s CEO added: ”We are excited to support ariika and its leadership team to achieve their vision and lead the home and décor sector in the MENA Region. ariika is considered the most promising company within an encouraging sector that commanded strong operational performance over the last couple of years. With ariika’s ambitious expansion plans set in place, the company is well positioned to become the leading supplier of home and décor products to all households in the region.”
A Look at ariika
ariika, founded in 2016 by Khaled Attallah and Shahir Arslan, operates as a transformative force in the MENA home and décor market. Its primary mission is to revolutionize an industry estimated at $20 billion, characterized by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 10%. The company distinguishes itself by consolidating a fragmented market and serving as an inspirational digital-led home destination, emphasizing an extensive product selection, competitive pricing, and a stellar online and offline customer experience.
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Despite its relatively short existence, ariika has achieved remarkable growth, boasting a CAGR exceeding 85%. Its global outreach extends to more than 800,000 customers, with export activities accounting for more than 15% of its business. The company has also engaged in over 3,000 projects with leading real estate developers and industry giants in the MENA region, positioning itself uniquely in the market.
The recent Series A equity funding from Beltone Venture Capital will empower ariika’s expansion strategy, particularly its entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 4Q 2023. This investment will also support the company’s omni-channel approach and technological infrastructure enhancement, leveraging advanced Augmented Reality (AR) tools.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard