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Egyptian Furniture Marketplace Homzmart Acquires German Tech Firm

March 22, 2022

Mahmoud Ibrahim, the co-founder and CEO of Homzmart

The leading furniture and home made goods marketplace platform in the Middle East, Homzmart has announced the acquisition of the Berlin-based technology company MockUp Studio adding it to its product offering.

Founded in early 2020 by Mahmoud Ibrahim and Ibrahim Mohamed, Homzmart is Egypt’s digital platform connecting home goods and furniture manufacturers and brands with end consumers.

Homzmart’s platform and its end-to-solutions enable both retailers, including the likes of IKEA and Home Centre by helping them easily reach customers, and consumers who have a hassle-free, one-stop-shop shopping experience, with greater choice and flexible financing options.

The startup closed a US$15 million Series A funding round in May 2021, tripled in size over the course of the year, and expanded to Saudi Arabia, and it has now acquired MockUp Studio as it executes on its strategy to consolidate the full home goods and furniture value chain.

MockUp Studio’s technology will allow Homzmart users to visualise their furnished home in minutes. The acquisition means Homzmart will digitise the whole interior design process, starting from an empty room – exploring different layouts, finishings and floorings with different sets of Homzmart’s catalogue assortment – shown as a 360-degree view.

“We are delighted to complete this acquisition in Germany, and start integrating MockUp Studio’s technology into Homzmart’s product family. We have been very clear that our intention is to grow rapidly, expand regionally, and consolidate the whole furniture value chain. We are successfully doing all these things, and this M&A is a solid step in our value chain strengthening,” said Ibrahim.

“Our philosophy is all about transforming the furniture experience for consumers and sellers. Adding MockUp Studio’s technology means consumers can have the full interior design experience – browsing Homzmart’s entire catalogue, and viewing their desired space, in just a few clicks. MockUp Studio is a perfect partner to welcome Homzmart and I know consumers will be delighted when they experience the new technology later this year.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Egyptian Online Furniture Startup Homzmart Makes A Big Buy In Germany With MockUp Studio

March 3, 2022

MockUp Studio, a Berlin-based technology company, has been acquired by Homzmart, the Egypt-based premier online furniture and home goods platform.

“We are delighted to complete this acquisition in Germany, and start integrating MockUp Studio’s technology into Homzmart’s product family. We have been very clear that our intention is to grow rapidly, expand regionally, and consolidate the whole furniture value chain. We are successfully doing all these things, and this M&A is a solid step in our value chain strengthening,” Homzmart’s CEO and co-founder, Mahmoud Ibrahim, said.

Homzmart online furniture — *Image credits: Homzmart*

Why The Acquisition

The acquisition demonstrates Homzmart’s success in implementing its strategy to integrate the whole home goods and furniture value chain, and it aligns with the company’s mission to change how people shop for and equip their homes.

Consumers will be able to visualize their equipped house in minutes thanks to MockUp Studio’s technology. Homzmart will also use the acquisition to digitize the entire interior design process, starting with an empty room and exploring different layouts, finishes, and floorings with different sets of Homzmart’s catalogue assortment, all displayed in a 360-degree view.

For customers, the end result is a perfect representation of their intended area. They can also view and interact with the whole Homzmart catalog with only a few clicks.

The acquisition comes on the heels of Homzmart’s quick expansion, with operations having tripled in size by 2021 as a result of high consumer demand. Homzmart also expanded into Saudi Arabia in November 2021, a $15 billion market with a 10% annual growth rate.

MSA Capital, a worldwide investment firm with over $1.5 billion in assets under management, as well as Nuwa Capital, Rise Capital, Impact46, EQ2 Ventures, and Outliers Ventures, have invested in Homzmart.

“Our philosophy is all about transforming the furniture experience for consumers and sellers. Adding MockUp Studio’s technology means consumers can have the full interior design experience — browsing Homzmart’s entire catalogue and viewing their desired space, in just a few clicks. MockUp Studio is a perfect partner to welcome to Homzmart and I know consumers will be delighted when they experience the new technology later this year,” Mahmoud Ibrahim said.

MockUp Studio will be integrated into Homzmart’s operations as soon as possible. Homzmart customers may expect to have access to the full house visualization and interior design experience in the fourth quarter of this year.

MockUp Studio digitizes furniture store photos quickly and efficiently using Artificial Intelligence and superior computer vision. The system recognizes photos and uses them to mix and match products according to interior design principles.

The technology also evaluates the desired space’s size, room arrangement, and furniture placement. The algorithms in MockUp Studio find the best furniture to meet the user’s preferences and the room’s architecture.

Homzmart is a one-stop shop that allows people to buy furniture and household products online. It was founded in 2020 by Mahmoud Ibrahim and Ibrahim Mohamed. After obtaining a $15 million Series A investment in November, it expanded to Saudi Arabia.

Homzmart online furniture Homzmart online furniture

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Egypt’s Furniture Startup Homzmart Raises $1.3 million seed

February 3, 2020

Homzmart, the Cairo-based furniture marketplace is starting this year on a strong note. The startup has raised $1.3 million in a seed round, making it one of the largest seed rounds ever raised by an Egyptian startup.

“We are going after a huge market valued at more than $60 Billion. There are 25 million people in the MENA region searching for home furnishing every month with no serious player serving them online,”Mahmoud Ibrahim, the co-founder and CEO of Homzmart said.

The round of investment came from China’s MSA Capital, Oman Technology Fund (OTF), and Choueiri Group’s investment arm Equitrust, 500 Startups and some other strategic investors also joined the round.

What The Startup Does

Founded late last year by Mahmoud Ibrahim and Ibrahim Mohamed, Homzmart is an ecommerce marketplace that connects furniture manufacturers and vendors with customers, selling furniture online.
The platform showcases different designs to help customers personalize their ideas and vision for their home, and bring it to reality, a feature the founders see as an important part of the furniture purchasing decision.
Both the founders have a solid ecommerce background. Mahmoud started his ecommerce career with Rocket Internet’s Jumia in 2012 serving Jumia Egypt as VP Operations and then went on to join Daraz, the leading ecommerce platform of South Asia as a Managing Director for Pakistan. He was Daraz’s Group COO when the company was acquired by Alibaba for an estimated $200 million. Ibrahim is also a Jumia alumnus and used to lead company’s ‘logistics development and expansion’ in Egypt.”
Mahmoud said that they started Homzmart to solve pain points of both customers and furniture manufacturers.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com