Other participants in the round include Badwa Capital and Turmeric Capital. This new funding brings Eyewa’s total capital raised since its inception in 2017 to $130 million.

The company plans to use the funds to accelerate its expansion across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and beyond. 

Key initiatives include opening over 100 new retail stores in six countries by 2025, including its entry into the Qatari market. Added to this, Eyewa intends to establish a production facility and a fulfilment centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by the next quarter. 

The goal is to enhance its supply chain, improve delivery times, and meet the growing customer demand.

Founded by former Bain & Company consultants Anass Boumediene, Mehdi Oudghiri, and Abdullah AlRugaib, Eyewa began as an e-commerce platform selling third-party eyewear brands. 

Recognising a gap in the market for affordable and fashionable eyewear tailored to the region, the company pivoted to launching its own in-house brands. 

Currently, 96% of Eyewa’s revenue is generated from these proprietary lines, which are designed to meet diverse consumer needs, from trendy options for younger buyers to functional designs for older customers.

Eyewa operates with a dual focus: making eyewear a fashion statement while maintaining high-quality healthcare standards. The company’s approach contrasts with traditional eyewear retailers, which often prioritise a clinical shopping experience. 

Eyewa’s entry-level eyeglasses, including lenses, are priced at approximately $100 in the Gulf states, nearly half the cost of similar products in conventional stores.

The brand has also expanded its retail presence to complement its e-commerce platform. Since opening its first physical store in late 2020, Eyewa has grown to 150 wholly-owned outlets, making it the largest eyewear retailer by store count in Saudi Arabia. 

Unlike its competitors, Eyewa manages all its stores directly, avoiding the franchise model to maintain quality and brand consistency.

General Atlantic’s involvement in this funding round shows how much global investors in the Middle East’s growing startup ecosystem are gaining more interest in the sector. 

Commenting on this trend, co-CEO Oudghiri noted, “The region is now seeing established growth and private equity funds entering the market, which marks a shift from the early-stage venture capital investments that dominated the last five years.”

Eyewa’s growth stands out even in global comparisons. It achieved 100 stores within four years, outpacing industry benchmarks like Warby Parker and India’s Lenskart, which took six to seven years to reach similar milestones. Despite this aggressive expansion, Eyewa reports profitability and over 50% year-over-year revenue growth.

The company’s strategic blend of fashion-forward eyewear, affordable pricing, and a comprehensive omnichannel approach makes it a rising powerhouse in the Middle Eastern retail market. 

With new funding in hand, Eyewa is strengthening its foothold in the region while setting its sights on bigger international opportunities.

With this funding, Reliance Health has successfully closed the largest Series B round in the African HealthTech industry to date.

Led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity investor, the round received participation from Partech, Picus Capital, Tencent Exploration, AAIC (Asia Africa Investment and Consulting), P1 Ventures, Laerdal Million Lives Fund, Arvantis Social Foundation Impact Investment, and M3, Inc.

The newly-established partnership also marks General Atlantic’s first technology investment in Africa. To date, Reliance Health has raised $48,000,000 in total funding, including a $6,000,000 Series A funding round in January 2020 led by Partech, with participation from Y Combinator, LoftyInc Capital, Golden Palm Investments, Picus Capital, and Ventures Platform.

Reliance Health uses technology to bring more affordable and accessible healthcare to leading companies in emerging markets including Biersdorf Nivea, Jumia, PWC, Merrybet, Regus, and others.

The company has averaged 3.5x YOY revenue growth and offers an integrated approach that includes flat fee healthcare plans, telemedicine, prescription delivery, and a combination of partner and proprietary healthcare facilities in one single platform with one single fee.

Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria and Austin, Texas, Reliance Health began operations in Nigeria in 2015 as a telemedicine-focused startup, Kangpe, founded by Femi Kuti, Opeyemi Olumekun, and Matthew Mayaki, and later expanded into a single-fee healthcare provider to better address the complex, evolving needs of patients.

This new Series B investment will accelerate Reliance Health’s efforts in expanding the platform in emerging markets around the world while adding new products that complement existing proprietary technology, facilities, and partnerships. Reliance will also leverage the funds to hire additional top talent.

“Healthcare in emerging markets is often overlooked by private initiatives because it’s an extremely complex challenge to solve. At Reliance Health, by leveraging new innovations to break the constraints of legacy solutions, we believe there is an opportunity to solve some of these tough problems and even for aspects of healthcare in emerging markets to leapfrog to other parts of the world. We are excited to work with our investors towards bringing affordability and accessibility in healthcare to underserved markets, ultimately saving lives around the world,” said Femi Kuti, Reliance Health CEO and co-founder.

“General Atlantic is thrilled to announce our first technology investment in Africa in Reliance Health, backing a team focused on improving healthcare quality for millions of patients in Nigeria and abroad,” said Chris Caulkin, head of EMEA Technology and managing director at General Atlantic. “We have been consistently impressed by Femi and Ope, who exemplify the entrepreneurialism and innovation we see across the African continent. We look forward to sharing our experience as a leading global growth equity investor in support of Reliance Health’s exciting and important mission.” 

“We led Reliance Health’s Series A because we saw a team that combines great vision with superb execution. They have proven this by delivering a product that is successful with large corporate as well as micro-businesses, opening up access to healthcare for underserved segments of the population. All of the Partech team feels proud and excited to see top global investors join the company as it scales in Nigeria as well as new markets,” said Tidjane Dème, general partner at Partech.

“Financial barriers prevent millions of people from receiving the life-saving and life-improving care that they need in low- and middle-income countries. Ensuring equitable access to healthcare coverage is something we care deeply about as mission-driven healthcare investors, and we’re honoured to partner with Femi Kuti and the entire Reliance Health team to help scale their offering to achieve the largest potential impact,” said Jeff Trost, managing partner at Laerdal Million Lives Fund.