Invygo, a Dubai based startup, has raised $1 million in its Seed round. Invygo is the first app-based car subscription company in the MENA region, offering an alternative to owning or leasing a car. Customers can choose a car, upload their license and sign their documents all from within the app and have the car delivered for free to their home within hours. With no debt, long-term commitment or hidden fees involved, customers pay monthly to drive the car and can even request servicing or return their car with the tap of a button whenever they need. Invygo aims to attract users who are looking for a high-quality customer experience and an alternative to the traditional car ownership and leasing options available in the market.
The seed round for the car subscription startup was led by Class 5 Global, a San Francisco based venture fund, and joined by Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investment, Kairos K50, and William Zeqiri. Invygo will be investing the funds raised into upcoming expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other GCC countries.
Joel Ayala, Co-founder and Partner at Class 5 Global, maintains that…
“Rapidly changing consumer behaviour in the region has led to a unique opportunity to disrupt traditional car ownership. With their tech and industry backgrounds, the Invygo team is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this trend.”
Invygo was incubated by in5 in April 2018 following their first 275,000 USD funding round in November 2018. Invygo then joined Misk500, one of the region’s biggest accelerator programmes that offers funding opportunities to promising businesses. The company has already served close to 1000 car subscriptions to date with seven car brands. Currently only operating in the UAE, the team plans to expand to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other GCC countries soon. With 10 full-time employees, all of Invygo’s operations, including engineering and data science, are managed in-house.
The company was founded by Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo who are both IE Business School Alumni and have extensive experience in the automotive industry, finance and machine learning. Working in the automotive sector, Eslam first realized that there is a significant gap between today’s fast-paced consumer demands and the traditional, limited options offered in the market. With this insight, he began working on Invygo to eliminate the time-consuming process of car procurement. The focus was to make getting a car more customer-centric by giving consumers the ability to book a specific car, with the flexibility to change or upgrade as needed – all without owning a depreciating asset.
Co-founder and CEO Eslam Hussein comments:
“We’re excited to receive significant funding which will allow us to push forward and expand the Invygo platform. Invygo provides a solution to a real problem and fills a gap in the automotive market. It takes the hassle out of the whole driving experience by offering dealership-verified, quality cars without the commitment of ownership, all through a seamless app-based experience. It’s a monthly payment that customers can pause, cancel or upgrade anytime.”
“Today’s Middle Eastern, millennial wants the latest of everything in the shortest time possible, and we’re here to meet that demand in the automotive sector. Our business has grown from strength to strength in the eight months we’ve been operational. We’re excited to expand into new markets and provide customers with their ideal car experience with top-notch customer care.”
ⓘ Source: Press Release
