eyewa, e-commerce eyewear player raises $2.5M Pre-Series B Bridge round
eyewa, UAE-based eyewear e-commerce player, has raised successfully secured a Pre-Series B Bridge round of $2.5M, from Nuwa Capital, Wamda Capital, and EQ2 Ventures. This marks Nuwa Capital's first investment since its launch in February 2020.
• eyewa specialises in online retail of sunglasses, eyeglasses, prescription contact lenses, and coloured contact lenses, and offers a wide choice catered towards the latest fashion trends with a highly customised user experience throughout the discovery, ordering, packaging, and delivery process.
• eyewa, which is now the largest online eyewear retailer in UAE and KSA, saw its business double during the lockdown.
• Nuwa Capital’s vision is to support financially, strategically, and operationally, founders reshaping the markets they operate in.
• The funds will be used to double down on the rapid expansion e-commerce has witnessed and build new capabilities to further strengthen its position in MENA's online eyewear space.
Co-Founder, Mehdi Oudghiri said, "Our success in the past three years has been driven by our efforts to disrupt the traditional eyewear industry in the region. We offer exclusive and trendy yet affordable eyewear coupled with best in class customer experience."
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Read the full press release below.
Nuwa Capital has announced its first investment since its launch in February 2020. The firm has joined Wamda Capital and EQ2 Ventures in eyewa's pre-Series B bridge round. Since the company's launch in 2017, eyewa has raised a total of US$11.1 million since inception.
The company specialises in online retail of sunglasses, eyeglasses, prescription contact lenses, and color contact lenses, and offers a wide choice catered towards the latest fashion trends with a highly customised user experience throughout the discovery, ordering, packaging, and delivery process.
eyewa, which is now the largest online eyewear retailer in UAE and KSA, saw its business double during the lockdown as many customers switched their shopping habits away from the malls and stores towards the convenience and safety of online shopping.
Last year, eyewa was selected as one of the top 100 Arab startups by the World Economic Forum for its contribution to the region’s digital transformation.
Nuwa Capital’s vision is to support financially, strategically and operationally, founders reshaping the markets they operate in, with a specific focus on retail in the form of DTC (Direct-to-Consumer), Rapidly Digitizing Industries (RDI) such as healthcare, proptech, fintech, as well as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). "We've built our thesis around backing founders who are driving rapid transformation within their respective industries and building for long term change, and that's exactly what Anass and Mehdi are doing," said managing partner Khaled Talhouni.
Primed for a post-pandemic world, the fund’s investment in eyewa is predicated on its strong belief in a founding team with a unique track record, operating in a space that has greatly transformed over the past decade.
The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have seen scores of new customers transacting online for the first time, leading to an irreversible generational shift towards online purchasing. The company saw a surge in new customers looking for a better shopping experience and a more accessible, diverse line of products.
"E-commerce companies with a DTC offering like eyewa are reinventing the retail experience by creating both an online and offline experience to interact with customers while remaining nimble enough to scale and optimize as needed. DTC remains one of the most under-leveraged opportunities in our region.
"Eyewa has rapidly become the leading contender in the eyewear retail space, competing with both digital and traditional retailers. This is a very fitting first investment for us, as we are uniquely positioned to help accelerate the company's growth across MENA and particularly in KSA." said Talhouni.
Mehdi Oudghiri, co-founder and co-CEO commented, “These funds will allow us to accelerate our disruption of MENA’s eyewear retail sector through the implementation of innovative tech solutions, expanding our product portfolio and offering best in class customer service.”
"Our success in the past three years has been driven by our efforts to disrupt the traditional eyewear industry in the region. We offer exclusive and trendy yet affordable eyewear coupled with best in class customer experience." added eyewa co-founder and co-CEO Mehdi Oudghiri.
“Khaled and the team are veterans of the ecosystem in the region and are bringing a new approach to VC investment with Nuwa Capital. We are very excited to have them part of the eyewa family," Oudghiri continued.
Patrick Thiriet, CEO of EQ2 Ventures, closed off with, “Ever since it was launched, eyewa has been a role model for the MENA innovation ecosystem. Its talented, dedicated team keeps on finding ways to better serve consumers’ needs, raising the bar for all players in the eyewear market. We are, more than ever, proud to be part of their journey.”
eyewa will leverage the additional capital to double down on the rapid expansion e-commerce has witnessed during the pandemic and build new capabilities to further strengthen its position in the online eyewear space in the MENA region.
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