– Investcorp leads a $130 million pre-IPO investment in Salla, a prominent SaaS e-commerce platform in Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with Sanabil Investment and STV.
– Salla, established in 2016, aims to support Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing SMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs with a proprietary SaaS solution for e-commerce.
– The investment, made through Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund LP, reflects confidence in Salla’s potential to drive e-commerce growth in Saudi Arabia and beyond, with plans for further expansion and innovation.
Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm, has spearheaded a $130 million pre-IPO investment round in Salla, a SaaS e-commerce enablement platform in Saudi Arabia, according to media reports.
This investment initiative saw the collaboration of Sanabil Investment, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, along with STV, an existing shareholder of Salla.
Established in 2016 in Makkah, Salla aims to foster the entrepreneurial landscape in Saudi Arabia by offering SMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs a proprietary SaaS solution to realize their e-commerce aspirations.
Presently, Salla facilitates merchants to capitalize on a $20 billion e-commerce market, projected to grow by over 25% annually.
Since 2020, Salla has facilitated $7 billion in e-commerce sales and currently serves more than 80 thousand active merchants.
Co-founded by Nawaf Hariri and Salman Butt, Salla boasts a team of over 160 developers dedicated to technology and product development. It provides merchants with a fully-digitalized and automated solution, enabling them to swiftly establish their e-commerce website, commence online sales, process online payments, and dispatch products to customers.
Apart from seamless integration with online payment solutions and logistics firms, Salla offers over 400 applications on its platform to assist merchants throughout their online business journey.
Investcorp’s investment was channeled through Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund LP, which targets equity growth capital investments primarily in Saudi Arabia-based companies with potential access to capital markets. Robin Mansour, Principal at Investcorp, is set to join the Board of Directors of Salla.
Walid Majdalani, Head of Emerging Markets Private Equity at Investcorp, remarked on the exponential growth of SMEs in Saudi Arabia and expressed optimism regarding Salla’s pivotal role in supporting the e-commerce ecosystem’s development.
Nawaf Hariri, CEO and co-founder of Salla, expressed gratitude for the confidence and investment from Investcorp and Sanabil, underscoring their commitment to advancing opportunities for individuals, SMEs, and enterprises in and beyond Saudi Arabia’s borders.
Investcorp’s involvement in pre-IPO funding rounds extends to previous engagements such as TruKKer, a prominent MENA digital freight network, and NourNet, a leading Saudi ICT company.
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