Raff, a Saudi Arabia-based retail technology startup, has raised $1.7 million in a pre-seed funding round as it seeks to transform how consumer brands enter and operate within physical retail markets across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The round was led by Vision Ventures, with participation from 500 Global, Palm VC, Oqal Group, Salla co-founder Salman Butt and other investors.
Founded in 2024, Raff is building a technology platform designed to connect consumer brands directly with retailers while digitising distribution, inventory management, order fulfilment, payments and other commercial operations.
The startup said the new funding would support its regional expansion, accelerate product development and strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities.
According to co-founder and CEO Ali Al Qudah, Raff was created to address the difficulties brands face when moving beyond online sales into physical retail.
What Problem is Raff Trying to Solve?
Raff is targeting a major challenge facing consumer brands across the GCC: moving from online commerce into physical retail remains complicated, fragmented and costly.
While digital platforms have made it relatively easy for brands to launch online stores and reach consumers directly, entering supermarkets, pharmacies, boutiques and other physical outlets often requires brands to establish separate relationships with numerous retailers.
They must also coordinate onboarding, logistics, inventory, orders, fulfilment and payments independently. Raff believes this creates unnecessary operational friction and slows the expansion of growing brands.
“While the barriers to launching an e-commerce business have never been lower, reaching customers through physical retail still requires brands to navigate multiple operational and commercial hurdles,” Al Qudah said.
The startup therefore aims to simplify these processes and make offline expansion faster and more efficient.
Short Note on Raff Startup
Founded in 2024 by Ali Al Qudah and Abdul Kareem Munla, Raff is a Saudi-based retail technology company focused on simplifying the relationship between consumer brands and physical retailers.
The founders bring complementary experience in e-commerce, technology, finance and business operations.
Al Qudah previously built and scaled two e-commerce brands before joining Saudi e-commerce company Salla as an early employee and later becoming Head of Growth at legal-tech startup Qanoniah.
Munla, meanwhile, brings more than two decades of experience in financial management and business operations, including financial transformation, governance, compliance and operational efficiency.
Raff’s proposition is built around helping brands expand their physical retail presence while giving retailers technology to manage their growing networks of vendors more efficiently.
Since launching, the company says it has enabled more than 900 brands across nine countries in the GCC and UK to expand through physical retail channels.
How Does Raff Work?
Raff operates as a digital layer connecting consumer brands with retailers and bringing several traditionally disconnected retail processes together on one platform. Instead of brands separately managing relationships, orders, inventory, logistics and payments with different retailers, Raff seeks to digitise and streamline these activities.
Its platform supports distribution, commercial operations, inventory management, order fulfilment and payments, while also helping retailers automate important workflows and manage relationships with multiple vendors.
Raff also integrates with leading point-of-sale and accounting software in the region, allowing retailers to connect the platform with systems they already use.
In practical terms, the platform is designed to help a brand get its products into more physical stores without having to manage every operational process manually.
At the same time, retailers can use the technology to simplify supplier management and spend more time concentrating on growing their businesses.
How Will Raff Use the Money?
Raff plans to deploy the $1.7 million investment toward three major priorities: regional expansion, product development and artificial intelligence capabilities.
First, the funding will give the startup additional resources to expand its operations across the GCC and reach more brands and retailers in the region.
Second, Raff intends to accelerate the development of its technology platform as it seeks to provide more efficient tools for physical retail operations.
Additionally, the company plans to strengthen its AI capabilities, potentially allowing it to automate more retail workflows and provide smarter technology-driven solutions, although the company has not disclosed specific new AI features in the announcement.
The funding round was led by Vision Ventures, which was joined by 500 Global, Palm VC, Oqal Group, Salla co-founder Salman Butt and other investors.
Al Qudah said the investment would enable Raff to “accelerate that vision, expand across the GCC, and continue building the infrastructure powering the next generation of retail.”
Why is This Important?
Raff’s expansion comes at a time when the GCC’s retail sector represents a substantial commercial opportunity, with the market valued at more than $300 billion annually.
The growth of e-commerce has already changed how consumers discover and purchase products, but physical retail remains an important route to market for many consumer brands.
This creates an opportunity for technology companies capable of connecting the digital and physical sides of commerce.
Vision Ventures CEO Kais Al-Essa described Raff as addressing a “high-friction challenge at the intersection of retail technology and logistics,” while comparing the opportunity with the earlier shift from offline to online commerce.
For Raff, success will depend not only on signing up brands but also on demonstrating that its platform can reduce costs, improve efficiency and generate measurable value for retailers.
Its reported 900-plus brands across nine countries suggest early traction, but sustained adoption and commercial performance will ultimately determine whether Raff can become a major retail infrastructure provider across the region.
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