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Opontia raises $20m to acquire, grow MENA e-commerce brands

Opontia founders Philip Johnston and Manfred Meyer
By Hilal Mir
June 7, 2021 5:12 am

    • The seed investment round is one of the largest raised in the MENA region

    • Opontia enables e-commerce entrepreneurs to realize the full potential of their brands

    Dubai: Opontia, a Dubai and Riyadh-based startup that acquires and grows e-commerce brands, has raised $20M in seed funding, one of the largest seed rounds in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

    The seed round was led by Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Presight Capital, and Kingsway Capital with participation from angel investors like Tushar Ahluwalia, CEO of Razor Group, Jonathan Doerr former CEO of Daras and co-founder of Jumia, and Hosam Arab the CEO of Tabby and former CEO of Namshi.

    Launched in March 2021 by Philip Johnston and Manfred Meyer, Opontia enables e-commerce entrepreneurs to realize the full potential of their brands, both in terms of getting an exit as well as profiting from future growth.

    Opontia also aims to nurture and build the entrepreneurial e-commerce ecosystem in the region.

    Opontia will use the funds to acquire exceptional e-commerce brands and to invest in a team of experienced e-commerce experts in the Middle East and Africa who will be responsible for managing and growing brands after acquisition. The company has already recruited a top-tier team with notable experience from Amazon, Noon, McKinsey, Uber-Eats and Namshi.

    Manfred Meyer, co-CEO of Opontia, said the market in the MENA was currently less mature than in the West but is growing much faster than any other market in the world, with the number of entrepreneurs selling on marketplaces growing at over 50% per year.

    Opontia currently operates in Dubai and Riyadh, with plans to open offices in Istanbul, Cairo, and Lagos in the coming months.

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