SIDEUP raises $1.2M in a seed round from global and regional investors

Egypt-based ecommerce services platform SIDEUP (Previously Voo) has raised SAR 4.51 million ($1.2 million) in a seed funding round. Riyadh Angels, Al Tuwaijri Fund, Saudi angel investor Faisal AlAbdulsalam, Alex Angels, 500 Global, and Launch Africa participated in the round.

The funding will be used to deepen SIDEUP's presence in Egypt and launch operations in Saudi Arabia. It will also open an office and develop a new range of solutions for customers over the next year. As part of its plans for Saudi Arabia, SIDEUP will relocate its headquarters to Riyadh and hire for a number of new roles in the country. 

Waleed Rashed, Founder and CEO of SIDEUP, said the future of MENA's economy is shaped by online business. However, there are still a number of challenges that limit its growth potential.

How does SIDEUP help?

"At SIDEUP, our platform connects merchants with a range of services from industry leaders, allowing them to focus on growing revenues...We are excited to enter a new phase of growth as we plan to take SIDEUP to new markets including the launch of our Saudi Arabia office," the company said in a statement.

Founded in 2019, it helps ecommerce business owners with its suite of technology solutions that help integrations, achieve scale and grow revenue. SIDEUP also provides a number of services, while allowing business owners to focus on their core operations.

According to Dr Khalid Al Tawil, Co-founder of Riyadh Angels, ecommerce remains fragmented across most of the region, creating a number of challenges for business owners. "SIDEUP's platform is a giant leap forward giving them a single place to access partners and technology to grow their businesses exponentially. We are excited to see them come to Saudi Arabia and support businesses through their next phase of growth," he said.

The platform also allows for API integrations for shipping, fulfilment, advisory, warehousing, and payment gateways from this region. According to a Yahoo finance report, the MENA region's ecommerce sector is set to touch $104.1 billion by end of 2022.

Breaking down the numbers

Once an ecommerce business chooses its preferred service provider, SIDEUP’s account management teams oversee service delivery between merchants and partners.

The company says it has had an 85% delivery rate on the first attempt, and a total of 90% delivery success across ecommerce orders. SIDEUP has had a cash-flow-positive business, achieving over $500K GMV per month, growing at 30% monthly.

Today, it works with 2,000 ecommerce businesses across Egypt and Saudi Arabia. All of its customers have the option of accepting cash on delivery, which is paid to merchants every 24 hours.

Its platform also allows merchants to operate cross-border across 45 countries, accessing new markets and audiences for their products. Similarly, service providers partnering with SIDEUP can discover new customers and revenue streams. Currently, it counts several industry leaders, including ecommerce platforms Zid, Zammit, and Wuilt; payments services Paytab, Cowpay, Paymob; and logistics providers Aramex, J&T, and iMile, as partners.

“We are excited to back SIDEUP, a company that is transforming the ecommerce industry across the entire region by connecting business owners to world-class services and partners,” said Mohamed Karar, Venture Partner at Launch Africa Ventures.