Cleaning marketplace platform justclean announced it has raised $6 million led by Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) with the participation of regional investors.
The capital boost will enable justclean to accelerate its growth plans to expand its cleaning services within the GCC, where it has become the leading cleaning marketplace app, in addition to being the top Software as a Service (SaaS) and logistics service provider in the cleaning industry.
Athbi Al Enezi, CEO of justclean who co-founded the company with his brother, Nouri Al Enezi, comments: “We’re thrilled to have GIC lead this round as this will give our expansion plans a massive boost. With the close of this latest funding round, we will further enhance the platform and diversify our service offerings, turning justclean into a super app for the cleaning industry. We are massively excited about this considerable financial injection which will enable us to realise our ambitions and take the company into a dynamic new era of achievement and growth.”
“This second tranche of funding follows an initial injection from Faith Capital, whose support was critical in enabling the platform to prosper during the early stages of its operations. For this second round, we have been very encouraged by the interest received from reputable investors and financial institutions from across the region. GIC‘s offering was in complete alignment with our vision; the intention to become the top marketplace platform for the cleaning industry. When people think of clean, we want them to think of justclean,” Al Enezi adds.
GIC’s investment in justclean is a further testament to its interest in home-grown startups and its growing investment portfolio in the digital economy space. With regards to its portfolio of technology startups, GIC looks to identify leaders in the GCC technology space and support them on their journey to becoming regional champions. To GIC, justclean is a good example of such a startup addressing a relatively offline market with an innovative offering and an impressive team.
The fresh round of investment coincides with the launch of a new car wash proposition, offering the service to car owners either at home or in stations in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and recently in KSA. The vertical expansion is part of justclean’s ambitious plans to dominate the industry, which will continue with a rollout of the newly launched service in Qatar.
The Al Enezi brothers, who developed the justclean concept in 2016, believe there is further scope to develop the technology and an expanded suite of services, beyond purely laundry and car wash services, which will ensure that justclean becomes the go-to-app for the cleaning industry globally, not just in the GCC.
The $3 billion cleaning industry in the Gulf region is driven mostly by independent service providers. justclean was among the first to digitise the service, consolidating offline operators into a simple to use platform that now includes some of the biggest cleaning companies in the region and a massive user base that will grow further as the company introduces enhanced services and enters new markets.
“It’s a hugely exciting time to be in this company and in this sector, where there continues to be high demand for a service that is so universal and offers the ultimate in access and convenience. We are enhancing the technology and rolling out new services that will make us the go-to app for the laundry and cleaning sector and we are looking forward to fulfilling our global ambition,” enthuses Nouri Al Enezi, deputy CEO.
