Press Release
Gathern, a Saudi Arabia-based peer-to-peer (P2P) rental marketplace has closed a $6M Series A funding round, led by STV and joined by existing investors Vision Ventures, 500 Startups, Mr. Naef Sultan AlAthel and ARG Limited.
Through Gathern, anybody can rent a villa, apartment, farm, caravan, room, chalet, camp, or yacht, among other options, directly from an individual owner. While property owners usually require an individual rental license to rent out their property, Gathern allows them to list their properties for rent through their website and application without having to obtain this license – removing a significant hurdle in the P2P rental market.
Domestic and international tourism has been a core focus of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. By 2030, the country aims to welcome 100 million international and domestic visitors, roughly three times the current population of the country. This would make Saudi Arabia one of the top 5 tourist destinations globally.
Ahmad Alshammari, Partner at STV, mentioned, “We are incredibly excited to partner with Gathern – it is our first investment in the travel space, and the largest ever investment in a female-led Saudi startup. We believe that Latifa and the Gathern team have the right engine to tackle this fast-growing market with a fresh approach. They have proven themselves to be incredibly nimble and resilient during COVID-19, where they grew significantly despite the global challenges. We are excited to see what the future holds.”
Latifa Altamimi, Co-founder and CEO at Gathern, added, “We are happy to have STV, as well as existing investors Vision Ventures and 500 Startups, on board in our journey as we continue to grow our proposition across the country. Saudi Arabia has a renewed vision for its tourism sector, with both domestic and international tourism seeing significant support. With Gathern, we look to offer a different experience from the traditional travel experience, by providing unique tourist residences from actual residents. This allows anyone to explore the real culture and cities in Saudi Arabia. If you become a host on our platform, you simply list your villa, apartment, farm, caravan, room, chalet, camp, or yacht, which allows you to earn significant additional income. Therefore, I invite everyone who has such a residence, and wants to welcome visitors from across the country and world while earning some additional income, to register on the platform and start hosting visitors.”
Gathern will use the funds towards developing its product and further deepening its geographical footprint within Saudi Arabia, where it is currently already active in 100+ cities, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Abha, Al-Baha, Taif, Al-Ula, and Umluj, among others.