Dubai-headquartered Merit Incentives secures $5m Series A funding

Dubai-headquartered Merit Incentives, a customer and employee engagement solutions developer, has announced a $5m Series A investment round, led by Riyadh-based venture capital fund Impact46 alongside Tech Invest Com, Arzan VC, and Hambro Perks Oryx Fund, among other angel investors.

Merit offers its B2B2C services to several enterprises, including Riyad Bank, Vodafone, Mubadala, Adidas and Amazon. Merit Incentives’ products include Rewardsby, a software as a service (SaaS) loyalty and rewards marketplace made up of nine redemption modules, and GiftCardsby – a SaaS digital gift card platform enabling instant sales and redemptions from retailers.

Julie Barbier-Leblan, CEO and founder of Merit Incentives said: “While we had the option of securing international investors our ambition has always been to raise funds from within the region, as this is where our business first launched. We believe in the Middle East’s fast-growing market which allows us to serve our international clients’ needs with agility and efficiency.”

Merit Incentives plans to use the funds to grow the team into new territories, and invest in technology, as well as build on the existing artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities of its solutions.

“We are amid a new era where users require unique yet meaningful experiences with companies they like and trust. It has now become imperative for businesses to engage directly with their customers, and internally with their employees, to create a constant dialogue and emotional bond at every touch point. We believe that the key to success is for leaders and managers to be able to align customer and employee engagement to support their vision, using SaaS technologies, and strong digital content,” added Barbier-Leblan.

The startup operates its own rewards network of 5,000 partner brands across over 100 countries, with more than 500 retailers and merchants in the GCC alone. It has offices in Saudi Arabia, the UK, Kuwait, Egypt, and Jordan, along with a technology lab and development team located in Lahore, Pakistan. It recently surpassed 20 million end users globally.