Raff Raises $1.7M to Expand GCC Retail Platform

Saudi startup Raff has raised $1.7M in pre-seed funding to expand its GCC retail platform and help online brands enter physical stores.

The round was led by Vision Ventures, with participation from 500 Global, Palm VC, Oqal Group, Salla co-founder Salman Butt and other investors.

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Raff will use the funding to accelerate its regional expansion, develop its product and strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities as it works to simplify distribution and inventory management for consumer brands entering offline retail.

Scaling the GCC Retail Platform

While e-commerce platforms have lowered the barriers for consumer brands to launch and scale online, moving into physical retail remains significantly more complex. Brands often have to manage separate retailer relationships, onboarding processes, logistics arrangements, inventory systems and commercial agreements.

Raff aims to address this fragmentation through an end-to-end platform connecting consumer brands directly with retailers. Its platform digitises key parts of the retail distribution process, including distribution, commercial operations, inventory management, order fulfilment and payments.

For retailers, Raff automates workflows and simplifies vendor management while integrating with leading point-of-sale and accounting software in the region. The opportunity is significant, as the GCC retail market is valued at more than $300 billion annually.

Retail Infrastructure and Growth

“We built Raff after experiencing firsthand how difficult it was for growing brands to move beyond online sales,” said Ali Al Qudah, Co-Founder and CEO of Raff. He added that while launching an e-commerce business has become easier, reaching customers through physical retail still involves multiple operational and commercial challenges.

Founded in 2024 by Ali Al Qudah and Abdul Kareem Munla, Raff brings together experience spanning 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.

Munla brings more than two decades of experience in financial management and business operations, including financial transformation, governance, compliance and operational efficiency. Despite launching less than 18 months ago, Raff says it has already enabled more than 900 brands across nine countries to expand their presence through physical retail channels.

Future Expansion Plans

The company plans to build on this traction by expanding its regional network and investing further in AI-powered capabilities. Vision Ventures said Raff is addressing a significant challenge at the intersection of retail technology and logistics.

“We previously supported the shift from offline to online through our early investment in Salla. Today, we see an equally significant opportunity as brands look to expand from online into physical retail,” said Kais Al-Essa, Founding Partner and CEO of Vision Ventures.

According to Al-Essa, Raff is creating an efficiency layer for commerce by reducing the friction involved in distributing consumer products through physical retail.

Why it matters

Raff's funding highlights the growing opportunity beyond e-commerce platforms themselves: the infrastructure needed to connect digital-first brands with physical retail. As more GCC consumer brands seek omnichannel growth, platforms that simplify distribution, inventory and retailer relationships could become an important part of the region's evolving commerce infrastructure.