The Vice President of the Private Equity Department in the Capital Markets Sector at Wafra International Investment Company, Suleiman Al-Fraih, revealed the company’s contribution to increasing the capital of the Saudi “Sary” platform, which was recently offered to investors, with the closing of the new subscription round at a value of USD 75 million (SAR281.3 million). 
“Sary” is the leading shopping platform for the business sector, specialized in linking owners of small, medium and micro enterprises, with a network of manufacturers of consumer goods and wholesalers, pointing to the closing of its investment round (Series C) worth USD 75 million led by “Sanabel”, the world’s leading investment. In the venture capital category, the wholly owned Public Investment Fund. Al-Fraih indicated that the investment round witnessed the participation of “Wafra International Investments” and “Endeavor Catalyst” as new investors, in addition to the participation of the existing shareholders “STV”, “MSA Capital”, “RocketShip.vc”, “VentureSouq” and “Raed Ventures”, noting that This investment will enhance Sari’s role in reinventing the wholesale market and empowering more than 20 million small and medium enterprises in the region. It is worth noting that the company had previously closed an investment round last May of USD 30.5 million (SAR 114.4 million), bringing the total amount of investments it has collected since its inception to USD 112 million (SAR 420 million). Al-Fraih explained that “Sari” has witnessed a significant growth in its operations in Saudi Arabia, more than 14 times compared to the previous year, indicating that the new subscription round will contribute to the platform’s continuation of its growth by attracting talents capable of developing its innovative solutions, and continuing the geographical expansion to serve the various markets of the region. The platform will continue to expand its targeted geographical segments, enhance the added value provided, and accelerate the transformation into an integrated platform, by linking it to many parallel services, which will make it easier for its users to provide their needs, and raise the efficiency of the supply chain.
Al-Fraih added that “Sari” has begun to develop financial services for its customer base to enable them to finance their businesses, in a sector facing a financial financing gap of up to USD 240 billion in the Middle East, which represents a great opportunity for the company’s future growth. He added that the escalating growth during the past years of the platform’s business reflects the innovative efforts of the company’s team to develop and build a pioneering shopping platform that leads the Saudi market in the field of e-business.