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Rabat – The UAE and Saudi-Arabia headquartered startup Eyewa has featured in Forbes’s ranking of the 50 most funded startups in the MENA region. Eyewa raised a total of $30 million so in 2022, landing 35th place on the Forbes ranking.
Launched in 2017 by Morocco’s Anass Boumediene, Mehdi Oudghiri, and Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Rugaib, the startup is an eyewear omnichannel direct-to-consumer retailer.
According to data from Forbes, Eyewa enjoys a broad base of investors including venture capitals Kingsway Capital, Nuwa Capital, French Partners, Endeavor Catalyst, Derayah, Palm Drive, Hardy Capital, EQ2 Ventures, Wamda Capital, GS Shop, 500 Startups, Khwarizmi Ventures, and Faith Capital.
The company is present mainly in the Middle East in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
Eyewa first started as an e-commerce company before expanding into physical retail four years later.
In 2021, the company opened 16 stores in Saudi Arabia and the UAE; it also established a number of house brands, including lifestyle eyewear brand 30Sundays and fast fashion brand Blackout, as well as the contact lens brand Layala.
Eyewa’s fundraising track in 2022, like other startups in Forbes’s regional ranking, has defied the prevailing economic downturn plaguing the MENA region.
According to Forbes, the region’s startups have continued to attract significant funding throughout this year.
The 50 startups included in the Forbes ranking raised a cumulative figure of $3.2 billion, against $3 billion in 2021.
Fintech companies continue to outperform other startups, with 21 companies attracting $1.3 billion in total funding, the Forbes report explains.
Second to Fintech is e-commerce, with 10 startups in the sector raising $576.7 million in funding. Delivery and mobility startups are in third place, with four startups locking $299.6 million, and three logistics companies raising $292 million.
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