It looks like Kuwait-based beauty e-commerce startup, Boutiqaat, is quite on a roll lately. Launched in 2015, the company has doubled its valuation to $500 million over the last one-and-a-half year.
This new development came into being after Boutiqaat raised additional funding from a Gulf-based investment firm. The financial terms of the investment deal and the identity of the investors aren’t yet known.
With a 2x increase in valuation, Boutiqaat has now cemented its position as one of the two most valuable tech startups in the Middle East and North Africa — a title it shares with real-estate technology farm Property Finder.
Worth noting here is that Boutiqaat had bagged $45 million in investment from Kuwait-based Boubyan Petrochemical in January 2018. At the time, the startup had a speculative valuation of somewhere between $250 million to $300 million. However, Abdulwahab Alessa, the founder, and CEO of Boutiqaat, has now confirmed that the valuation following the Boubyan deal stood at approximately $250 million.
For those unfamiliar with the company’s offering, Boutiqaat lists more than 25,000 fashion and beauty products from over 700 brands through its website and mobile app. What makes it unique is that the marketplace is built completely around social media influencers.
Simply put, the company has tie-ups with social media influencers whereby these influencers can set up their own virtual stores with their favorite products on Boutiqaat’s marketplace (in exchange for a commission). This arrangement makes it easier for consumers to conveniently browse through the curated sections while Boutiqaat oversees the transaction side of things.