Respond.io gets a $ 7 million Series A Round
The Social Commerce platform focused on engaging with UAE’s large telecom operators to make its solutions available via these service providers’ cloud marketplaces. A social conversational commerce platform, Respond.io has doubled its strategy and investment in UAE as it looks to pioneer the burgeoning social commerce space. It follows the successful closure of the company’s […]
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Gerardo Salandra, CEO of respond.io
The Social Commerce platform focused on engaging with UAE’s large telecom operators to make its solutions available via these service providers’ cloud marketplaces.
A social conversational commerce platform, Respond.io has doubled its strategy and investment in UAE as it looks to pioneer the burgeoning social commerce space. It follows the successful closure of the company’s US$7 million Series A round with participation from AltaIR Capital, Smart Partnership Capital, Sterling Oak Group & Calendula Ventures. The ecommerce market in the UAE is continuing its impressive growth with 6-7 per cent GDP growth in the country this year.
The UAE market is already one of the most significant revenue drivers for respond.io, which over the last 12 months has enjoyed a staggering 236.23 per cent revenue growth in the country. The effectiveness and broad-scale applicability of respond.io’s solutions across industries are evident in its strong base of hundreds of customers in the Middle East, which include leading brands such as Rotana Hotels, Cosmesurge, Ritchie Bros Middle East, and Hidayath Stainless Steel.
As 98.99 per cent of the UAE’s population uses social media, and instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger enjoy widespread popularity and utilisation, it has become a critical platform for marketing and brand building. “Social media usage in the Emirates is among the highest in the world and is fuelling a new wave of digital commerce innovation. Platforms such as Instagram have enabled brands to connect directly with consumers and accelerate their purchase decisions,” said Gerardo Salandra, CEO of respond.io.
“Thus far, brands have struggled to create a seamless customer journey from social to messaging channels such as WhatsApp, which serve as the critical ‘last mile in the purchase process. At respond.io, we have addressed this challenge by delivering an enterprise-grade platform built from the ground up for messaging, with powerful features such as advanced analytics, automation, and marketing tools. It enables multi-national brands to deploy highly innovative strategies at a scale of a million conversations per day across dozens of teams,” he added.
Respond.io has grown its revenue 25x since its previous round of funding and will use its new capital to continue its push into large enterprises by extending its extensive suite of integration capabilities. While leveraging the cash infusion to expand its ecosystem of channel partners, the company is focused on engaging with the country’s large telecom operators to make its solutions conveniently available via these service providers’ cloud marketplaces. “We are especially keen on further developing our relationship with Etisalat as this would supercharge our growth strategy and make our value proposition more easily and rapidly available to a broad segment of UAE businesses,” said Salandra.
