Fetchr, the international delivery app is growing at a rate of 15 to 20% per month, which makes 250 % YoY. During the last six months only, the company has hired 250 people. It recently raised USD 41 million in Series B funding from the returning US venture firm New Enterprise Associates. Fetchr is active in 84 cities across the Middle East and the latest push will be in Egypt. If someone had said that to the founder Idriss Al Rifai five years ago, he would have hardly believe them.
The beginning was more than tough, remembered Mr. Al Rifai in an interview with The National. He used own capital of USD 300,000 to establish the company. It turned out soon that this money would not be enough. He started borrowing money from friends and family and even took several personal loans from banks in France. At some point, his wife and him couch-served at friends’ houses. The first employee of the company was an intern who was an administrative assistant, a CFO, and a customer service executive at once.
When asked about the most difficult moment, Al Rifai confessed it was when his mother gave him half of her retirement savings. She had trusted him although the company was in distress and no bank would have given him another credit.
Everything had changed when he decided to go to the Silicon Valley and to pitch some US investors. It seemed almost impossible as people hardly trust someone doing business two continents away. As the old saying goes fate loves the fearless. He met Joy Aljouny who gave him the credibility he needed in the USA. The first Series A funding of USD 11 million was in 2015.
The next move? Al Rifai said he had big plans for expansion regionally and globally. The problem with the lack of addresses exists not only in the Middle East, confirmed he, but also in India, Pakistan, and Nigeria:
Now it’s all about building a better service and better products, improving technology and improving talents. Then it is to to grow. This company now is way beyond me – I am just here to drive it.
Read the whole interview here.