AnaMehani, an online services marketplace based in Egypt, raises SEED round
Scroll down for an exclusive Q&A with Co-founder and CEO, Saeed Alfagieh
- This is the 3rd round of investment that AnaMehani raised so far, after raising local angel investments in 2017
- In 2017, AnaMehani was selected as one of 100 top startups shaping the 4th industrial revolution in the MENA region at the World Economic Forum (in cooperation with IFC)
Cairo, 4 October 2018 – AnaMehani, an online marketplace connecting local quality customers with local expert service providers, has raised a SEED round of an undisclosed amount from the British investing company V.P.F Limited to relocate its head office branch in Cairo.
AnaMehani launched in six cities in Yemen on 5 May 2015, becoming the first online marketplace that connects local customers with local expert service providers. As of today, the platform receives over 300+ daily requests from over six cities in Yemen.
This investment will be used to expand the company's presence in Egypt, with the goal of making Egypt AnaMehani’s new headquarters, as well as expanding to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other neighboring markets in the MENA region. Moreover, the funds will be used to boost the automation of services, improving the customer experience, and developing new products for the business.
Commenting on the announcement of this investment, Saeed Alfagieh, CEO & Co-Founder of AnaMehani, says that “this investment will open new horizons of opportunities for AnaMehani to expand bigger and distinguish in the market. So far, the platform receives over 300+ requests daily basis from over six cities in Yemen which generated 264K jobs worth $750K in 2016 and 2017. With a Professional strategic partner as V.P.F Limited it will help AnaMehani in its next stage that could take the business a big leap in its vision for a rapid growth.”
The managing director of V.P.F Limited, stated "The idea of a platform facilitating job opportunities for the unemployed mass young Arab population, in an effortless way, backed by sophisticated technology, was what grasped our interest to be part of AnaMehani. We utterly believe that AnaMehani would be a pioneer in decreasing unemployment within the MENA region, and maybe one day around the world."
AnaMehani was selected last year as one of 100 top startups shaping the 4th industrial revolution in the MENA region in World Economic Forum (Davos) Jordan cooperation with IFC The company has also won the 2nd place in Arab Youth Campaign on Innovation Contest Sponsored by The International Monetary Fund and Arab Monetary Fund in Morocco.
AnaMehani’s vision for the future is to continue to expand their footprint in the MENA region with the goal to become the leading marketplace for general services and to continue to help manage workforce mobility in the global market.
Exclusive Q&A with Co-Founder and CEO, Saeed Alfagieh
Q1: Is this your 1st round of investment as a Company? How did you manage to convince the key investors to participate based on an idea?
This is the 3rd round of investment that AnaMehani raised so far. We always let our figures and records convince key investors to participate in investing in our business.
Q2: Who founded AnaMehani and what previous start-up experience did the founders have?
Saeed Alfagieh is the CEO & Founder – he has comprehensive startup experience with startups such as Aqarmap.com, Goyemen.com, ArabicCoach.com, SocialPalz.com, and others.
Maher Alrahomi the, CDO & Co-Founder - participating in founding previous startups such as SocialPalz.com, HitnWear, Maher is a young entrepreneur who had the experience of studying the U.S, which enlightened him with great innovative and creative skills that can run projects greatly. Maher has over 5 years of experience in the business world.
Q3: What kind of talent are you looking to acquire to grow your team?
We seek audacious, innovative individuals who have a passion and love what they do to change the service industry to become members of the AnaMehani family.
Q4: Scalability is often a major challenge for startups across the region. How do you look to scale into the larger markets across MENA and potentially beyond?
The scalability of AnaMehani is global, and the reach is ever-increasing. Since AnaMehani is a platform and mobile app where anyone can hire a worker/service provider or become one, the business can support an unlimited number of workers and services providers across the world. Since freelancing is still somewhat of a niche work environment (for now), the reach continues to expand daily, as more and more customers need and request workers /service providers to handle their home/office issues. The reach applies to anyone who at any point can decide to hire a worker or service provider or for anyone who wants to be one.