Eyewear Retailer Eyewa Raises $100M Funding Led by General Atlantic

MENA-based eyewear retailer Eyewa has raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by American growth equity firm General Atlantic, with participation from Badwa Capital and Turmeric Capital, taking the company’s total all-time financing to $130 million. Whilst the investment was announced in May 2024, the value of the investment had remained undisclosed until now. 

Founded in 2017 by Moroccan entrepreneurs Mehdi Oudghiri and Anass Boumediene, Eyewa began as a purely online enterprise before shifting into an omnichannel business boasting a physical retail network of over 150 stores across KSA, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. The company has since become one of the largest eyewear retailers in the region, mainly selling products from its own in-house brands. 

The founders, who met working in the US as consultants for Bain, previously launched FoodPanda in the Middle East, which was sold to Delivery Hero in 2016. Following the success of the launch, the pair decided to establish Eyewa, beginning its offline expansion in 2021 following four years of online-only operations. 

“In a sector that has not seen much disruption in the past decade, our success in this funding round reflects the strength of our business model,” Boumediene, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Eyewa, tells StartupScene. “But it also reflects the spirit of innovation across the region’s startups as we continue to dream big and break new ground in our respective industries.” 

Eyewa says that it plans to use the latest funds to add another 100 stores to its network in 2025, including an expansion to Qatar. The company also plans to open a production facility and fulfillment center in Riyadh. The new hub will include a warehouse and lens manufacturing facility, aimed at improving supply chain efficiency.