Iraqi E-commerce Venture Orisdi Raises a New Investment Round Led by Existing and New Investors
The Iraq-based e-commerce business, Orisdi has raised a new six-figure investment round that included the participation of existing and new investors. The round was facilitated by the Iraqi Angel Investors Network and served to reinforce the continuous growth of the business and the growing potential of e-commerce in Iraq.
The round saw the return of existing investors, including Al Sharqiya TV, Mohamed Shaikley, Amar Shubar, Nour Sabri, Kerem Danish, Omar Al Handal from Al Handal International group, and Bassam Falah from Innovest Middle East to reaffirm their commitment to the company. The round also saw the participation of new investors, including Mohamad Ferej, Rayya Al Zubaydi, and others. Ferej is a tech industry veteran and has held leading roles in Ericsson, Lumentis, and Transmode and experienced a successful M&A and IPO.
Orisdi is a leading vertically integrated e-commerce store in Iraq that offers buyers a convenient shopping experience for a wide range of products to distupt the Iraqi retail market. Orisdi is focused on multiple categories including perfumes, cosmetics, appliances, stationery and electronics, amongst others.
The Total Addressable Market (“TAM”) for e-commerce in Iraq has been growing rapidly on the back of a young population that is increasingly internet savvy. Statista estimates the TAM to be $5.667B in 2022 and is expected to grow to $8B over the coming three years.
Ahmed Al Kiremli, the Founder & CEO of Orisdi, commented, “We plan to continue to focus on our winning categories as a vertically integrated e-commerce store and to offer only genuine brands”. He added that the company continues to be the most efficient e-commerce player in Iraq in terms of units of economics compared to its competitors through continuous learning and processes optimization and that the business is approaching the break-even point.
Mohsen Khairaldin Garica, Managing Director of Investments at Al Sharqiya Group and a member of the Iraqi Angel Investors Network, commented: "I believe we will soon see an increase in M&A opportunities in the Iraqi e-commerce market as ventures like Orisdi and its competitors mature. Mohammed Shaikley, one of the early and returning investors of Orisdi, added, “We are happy to see the rising interest and involvement of regional VCs in Iraq during the last 12 months. Iraq has a big potential as a tech market with an underserved population of over 42 million”.
Al Kiremli added:, “We were able to overcome an important milestone by completing the company registration at Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM); this will provide a more attractive legal structure for regional and international VCs looking for exposure to Iraq's e-commerce future.” So If you are an angel investor or a VC interested in investing in the Iraqi tech ecosystem, Orisdi remains open to raising additional funds in order to facilitate the scaling of the company.
The investment has been facilitated by the Iraqi Angel Investors Network, an initiative by Kapita sponsored by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH via its project “ICT for Youth in Iraq”.
About Orisdi
Orisdi is the leading online store in Iraq that offers a broad range of products, such as perfumes, cosmetics, stationery, electronics, groceries, toys, baby care products, appliances, and home & kitchen products.
Orisdi’s brand and name is inspired by a famous department store in Iraq that enjoyed wide popularity at the beginning of the 20th century, using the name “Orosdi-Back”. It was renowned for its wide selection of products, brands, and competitive pricing. In the Iraqi dialect, most people pronounced it “Orisdi” or “Orizdi”. Orisdi wants to reconnect with customers’ memories of this well-known store and offer them an online shopping experience that is entirely new to Iraq.
About The Iraqi Angel Investors Network
The Iraqi Angel Network is the first angel group in the country that comprises a group of distinguished Iraqi businessmen and entrepreneurs looking to support the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Iraq and revitalising the country's private sector.
IAIN was founded in 2020 by the project “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) - Perspectives for the Modern Youth in Iraq” of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in cooperation with its partner KAPITA.