HOODS Seeks Seed Funding To Support Expansion

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The pre-seed fund of $350,000 helped this entertainment shopping platform in ME to build a technology platform and provide various payment and financing solutions.

Hoods, the first live entertainment shopping platform in the Middle East, is seeking a seed funding round to support its expansion plan.

Hoods was founded by Mostafa Hanafy in Egypt at the end of 2020 and co-founded by Waleed Ghalwash through a pre-seed funding round in 2022 of $350,000 that included angel investors from the entertainment, logistics, venture finance, and fintech sectors. With the launch of the new version of its application across the Apple and Android stores,

The ecommerce market in MENA is believed to have reached $29 billion in revenue in 2021 and is projected to double by 2026 to reach $57 billion. The live ecommerce sub sector is forecasted to constitute 14per cent of that market by 2026, delivering $ 8 billion in revenues.

• Hoods platform brings together the new generation of buyers and global and local brands through thousands of videos and lives broadcast channels.
• It empowers sellers, both established and aspiring influencers, through live interaction with buyers and a simplified click-to-buy process.

Hoods founding partner Mostafa Hanafi said that his team is creating the first platform in the Middle East to offer ecommerce integrated with entertainment and live to broadcast.

Hoods Co-founder Waleed Ghalwash, serial entrepreneur, and founder of Code95 and MerQ AI, said, “HOODS offers a unique experience to both shoppers and sellers through an app that is both easy to use and intuitive.” Influencers and brands can set up a shop, upload their content, and start selling in a matter of minutes. “We are working on state-of-the-art data analytics and AI engines to provide shoppers with intuitive recommendations and insights,” he said.

Mostafa contends that capturing the live ecommerce opportunity requires a re-imagination of the consumer experience. “Traditional ecommerce experiences are missing what is clearly becoming a growing expectation from younger generations’ he says, referring to entertainment and interaction—standards being set by social networking experiences from the likes of Tik Tok and Instagram. But those platforms are not built for ecommerce and lack what consumers have come to expect from online shopping: an instant buying experience and a reliable fulfillment process.”

“We help local brands create professional entertainment content that appeals to the digital consumer. We also open the door for new influencers to communicate directly with brands and become their digital sales representatives, achieving immediate financial returns for both parties. It’s a win-win for everyone, and Hoods is set to be the propeller of this new version of digital commerce,” said Mostafa.

Waleed added that HOODS conducted a financing round earlier this year and succeeded in collecting $350,000. The pre-seed fund helped expand its activities by building a robust technology platform and providing various payment and financing solutions through partnerships and traditional payment methods.