Jeddah-based peer-to-peer (P2P) vehicle-sharing platform Ejaro has raised $850,000 in a seed round, it announced in a statement today to MENAbytes. The money came from angel investors and a local venture studio BIM Ventures.
Founded in 2019 by Mohammed Khashoggi, Ejaro is basically an Airbnb for cars, connecting local vehicle owners with individuals looking to rent vehicles. The vehicle owners get to make extra money from a car that they might not be using all the time and the renters according to Ejaros enjoy vehicles at up to 40 percent cheaper rates than the car rental companies. The renters can search for vehicles by area to find the ones nearby.
All the cars on its platform are insured. The startup also introduced its own peer-to-peer vehicle insurance policy in partnership with Kingdom Brokerage and MedGulf; that is available for both hosts and renters.
Mohammed Khashoggi, the founder and CEO of Ejaro in a statement said that they’re expecting to witness large growth in the post-Covid economy, “With millions out of jobs and rental companies struggling, our platform empowers owners to earn an additional income from their depreciating assets and share them with the masses. I truly believe that Ejaro will accelerate in the coming weeks.”
Mohamed Amine Merah, Ejaro’s Finance & Strategy Partner and Managing Partner of BIM Ventures, said, “During the down time [due to Covid-19], we were able to develop and launch a new and improved app, build strategic partnerships, and solidified our internal processes.”
He also said that the startup is eyeing expansion to some regional markets starting with UAE in 2021.
Ejaro will use the funds to further develop its product, grow the number of cars on its platform, and expand its team.
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