Ejari, a Saudi-based property technology (proptech) platform offering a Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) solution for residential rentals, closed a $1 million (SAR 3.75 million) pre-seed round led by Sanabil 500 MENA and Hambro Perks' Oryx Fund, in addition to the participation of several angel investors.
Founded in 2022 by Yazeed Al-Shamsi, Fahad Albedah, Mohammed Alkhelewy, and Khalid Almunif and based out of Riyadh, Ejari provides a unique Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) solution for residential rentals, addressing the need for more flexible payment options in the Saudi rental market. Ejari launched their RNPL service in Q2 2023, receiving their licence from the Real Estate General Authority of Saudi Arabia after having noticed that Saudi rental contracts are typically paid annually or semi-annually. The rigid payment structure makes paying rent prohibitive and expensive for many tenants, including people early in their careers and young families. Ejari’s RNPL service allows tenants to pay their rent monthly and landlords to receive their yearly rental payment in full before the tenant moves in. The service offers tenants the financial flexibility to manage their cash flow better and lowers moving-in costs. While landlords may stand out in a competitive rental market, attracting more applicants due to the availability of flexible payment options
Ejari CEO Yazeed Alshamsi commented, "Our vision is to democratise access to the real estate market with our solution, empowering and enabling tenants to change their rental bill from a large yearly expense into a manageable monthly one. We perceive this as a billing problem. All our bills, from utilities and phone bills to credit cards, are paid monthly, with the exception of their rental bill. Simultaneously, our platform aims to enhance landlords' ability to rent out their properties faster and retain their best tenants for longer, fostering the development of a thriving Saudi rental ecosystem. With this recent funding, we are well positioned to accelerate the growth of our Rent Now, Pay Later service and expand into other innovative prop-tech solutions. We remain dedicated to delivering cutting-edge customer-centric solutions in the property technology sector as we progress."
Ejari is a participant in the 10th batch of Saudi Telecom Company’s (STC) InspireU accelerator programme. The Saudi Real Estate General Authority (REGA) and the Saudi Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsh'aat) sponsored the Customer Experience Digitization Challenge, a component of the Real Estate Innovation Challenge, where Ejari took first place. Ejari was also incubated as part of the first batch of the MVP LAB initiative, run by the Saudi National Technology Development Programme (NTDP).
Source: https://www.wamda.com/2023/10/saudi-proptech-ejari-closes-1-million-pre-seed-round