Saudi Arabia-based Re-commerce marketplace that specializes in second-hand products, Soum, has raised $18 million in series A funding as it plans to scale its business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. (Recommerce is the selling of previously owned items through online marketplaces to buyers who reuse, recycle or resell them)
The funding round was led by Jahez, with participation from Isometry Capital along with existing investors, which include Khwarizmi Ventures, Alrajhi partners, and Outliers venture capital.
According to the company, the latest funding will accelerate its expansion regionally, as well as beyond its core vertical of secondhand electronics in which it enjoys market leadership in Saudi Arabia where it is based.
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Also, with the addition of high-value categories of secondhand products, Soum will enable users to sell products ranging from collectibles to automobiles, tapping a combined $40 billion market.
Speaking on the funding round, Co-Founder and CEO of Soum Fahad Al Hassan said,
“The success of this funding round is a testament to the dedication of our entire team. With the backing of the region’s leading investors, we are excited to kick off our next stage of growth, while continuing our mission to transform how customers buy and sell online.
“We are expanding into different geographies and are looking at the whole MENA region. We have also started testing new categories to fulfill our vision of being a place where you can sell everything from phones to automobiles. We want to make buying and selling easier and accessible to everyone”.
It is worth noting that the global secondhand market is growing rapidly. Secondhand electronics, in particular, is growing at more than 10% annually, driven by an increasing consumer price sensitivity and longer hardware lifespan. Yet despite the global trends, the user experience for buying and selling a secondhand product remains challenging for MENA users.
With the Series A funding, Soum is poised to tackle customer pain points and offer a solution that is an order of magnitude better than any other substitute.
Founded in 2021, Soum is a platform connecting millions of customers with a diverse collective of individual and small business sellers offering convenient and trustworthy access to over 14,000 listings from 150+ cities in the MENA region.
The startup emerged from stealth in March 2022, with $4 million in seed funding led by Outliers Venture Capital and Mazen Aljubeir. Eight months after its launch, Soum was already processing millions of dollars of annualized sales.
Sound is on a mission to reimagine commerce in the MENA region, with the building of the most convenient, trustworthy, and transparent re-commence marketplace, starting with consumer electronics in Saudi Arabia.