Contech startup Elmawkaa raises six-figure Seed round

Contech startup Elmawkaa raises six-figure Seed round

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• 17 October, 2021

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• Cairo-based construction technology (contech) startup Elmawkaa has raised a six-figure Seed round, led by Flat6labs and joined by a Group of Oqal angels from Saudi Arabia after joining 500 Startups in Misk second batch in 2019.
• Founded in 2017 by Ebrahem Anwar, Mahmoud Habib, and Mohamed Thabet, Elmawkaa aims to facilitate the purchase process of building materials through its matching algorithms.
• Elmawkaa will utilise the investment to onboard 2,000 suppliers, reach 4,000 transactions with $2 million GMV.

Press release:

Cairo-based contech startup Elmawkaa has raised a six-figure Seed round led by Flat6labs and joined by a Group of Oqal angels from Saudi Arabia after joining 500 Startups in Misk second batch in 2019.

Founded in late 2017 by Ebrahem Anwar, Mahmoud Habib, and Mohamed Thabet, Elmawkaa makes buying and selling building materials easier through its matching algorithms. The customers who are looking to buy building materials can use the website to request quotations through high-quality suppliers on the platform and compare between them.

Ebrahem Anwar, the co-founder and CEO of Elmawkaa speaking about how they’re different from other players in the market said that they’re not a listing platform “We are not a listing or ordinary marketplace, we are digitalising and innovating the process of buying building materials through a bidding process and our matching algorithms, which we built with our hands that deliver accurate and competitive quotations based on our experience in engineering, business, and software development in the last decade.”

Elmawkaa’s focus on buying and selling building materials also provides the best customer service and high-quality suppliers. 

“Our plan is to be the best at the domain we compete in and make the purchasing process seamless,” Anwar added.

CBO of Elmawkaa, Mohamed Thabet said: “I still remember the first campaign we have launched and the first client we have dealt with. It was too vague to figure out the best way to penetrate the market and generate revenues as well. Shall we start with suppliers or contractors? How can we ensure our customers’ satisfaction? But after many A/B tests, experiments, and exerting a double effort to deal with our shortages, we were able to determine an inclusive framework of where to start.”

The startup that was part of 500startups in late 2019 seems to have made a lot of progress since its graduation from the accelerator; it onboarded more than 1000 suppliers organically, more than 4.5K contractors request quotations, and their GMV reached more than $1 million.

“Many sceptics told us because we are the first movers we will not succeed but we believed in the relentless team we have and in our experience in construction and technology,” Ebrahem Anwar said.

Thabet added: “Our success in striking partnerships with the biggest suppliers and key players in the market was a strong validation for what we are offering to the market.”

Elmawkaa’s CTO, Mahmoud Habib said: “The market of building materials in Egypt estimates at $17.5 billion, representing 30 per cent of the value market in Mena. It is expected to have sustainable growth to reach more than $62.3 billion by 2029.”

Five things have helped Elmawkaa to survive the COVID-19 time, having mentors, listening to customers, knowing how to prioritise, doing experiments and being customer-centric.

By 2022, Elmawkaa plans to onboard 2,000 suppliers, reach 4,000 transactions with $2 million GMV. By 2023, it aspired to penetrate all cities across the nation, onboard more than 4,000 suppliers, and list more than 10,000 products, 11,000 transactions worth $6 million GMV. By 2024, it plans to expand to Saudi Arabia, starting with Riyadh and expecting to reach $30 million GMV.