Dubai-based circular economy startup Revibe secures $2.3m funding

Revibe, a Dubai-based startup has raised $2.3m in a recent funding round that it participated in. The refurbished electronics startup plans to accelerate its growth within the $6bn refurbished consumer electronics market in the MENA region — which is expected to reach $20bn within the next decade.

The funding round was led by Resonance, a EUR150m Venture Capital fund based out of Paris, and Flat6Labs, the leading early-stage venture capital firm in the MENA region.

Other funding groups supporting Revibe include Techmind; Financiere Saint James (the family office of Michael Benabou) and several business angels.

The startup journey

Revibe was founded in July 2022 by Abdessamad Benzakour and Hamza Iraqui, who identified the need to create trust in the regional second-hand electronics market. The company is a business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplace for refurbished electronics, with the promise to provide customers new-like devices for 30-70 per cent cheaper than retail price points.

“We saw that there is an abundant supply of electronics, both locally and through imports,” said Benzakour. “But in spite of the booming demand for more affordable green tech products, there was no established, trusted party capable of providing quality-controlled devices at scale.”

Revibe says it implements rigorous quality controls, from the selection of suppliers and the auditing of processes to the use of a proprietary AI algorithm to monitor quality and only retain those suppliers that meet strict operating standards.

Iraqui and Benzakour based their value proposition on sustainability, price sensitivity, and increased trust. It is these attributes that attracted Flat6Labs and other investors to the Revibe brand and encouraged their bullish outlook of the company despite prevailing economic headwinds.

“Refurbished electronics represents a massive opportunity, especially in this time of economic challenges and growing climate awareness, where consumers are more mindful of their carbon impact while facing decreased purchasing power,” said Maxime Le Dantec, partner and co-founder, Resonance. “When we met Hamza and Abdessamad, we were impressed by their execution and ambition to build the leading refurbishing marketplace for electronic devices in MENA.”

Revibe plans to use the cash infusion to rapidly expand in its core markets and strengthen its operations and customer care team. It also plans to develop its technology team as well as make investments in marketing.

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