• Egypt-based interior design startup Efreshli has raised a Seed round at unknown value, led by Algebra Ventures, with participation from 500 Startups, Dar Ventures, and angel investors.
• Founded in 2019 by Heba El Gabaly, Efreshli allows customers to visualise how room setups will look before they make a purchase through its virtual decor tool.
• This new capital will be utilised to enhance Efreshli’s offerings and expand its product line.
• In 2021, Efreshli raised a $550,000 seed round, led by angel investor Tarek Sakr and property developer Marakez.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Egyptian interior design startup Efreshli has raised a seed round of funding to help it enhance its offerings and expand its product line.

Founded by Heba Elgabaly, Efreshli provides convenient furnishing and decorating services to help create a more accessible journey, all online. The platform showcases and sells thousands of products from over 150 of Egypt’s top brands, creating a seamless home shopping experience for its customers.

The startup has now raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding, in a round led by Algebra Ventures, with participation from 500 Startups, Dar Ventures, and angel investors. This new capital will be utilised to enhance Efreshli’s offerings and expand its product line.

Meanwhile, the startup has appointed Dina Elhaddad as co-founder and chief product officer (CPO). Elhaddad brings 15 years of experience in consumer technology, having spent the last eight years at Google, where she played a key role in developing industry-leading products like Google Assistant and Google Shopping.  

“I’m excited about this significant milestone for Efreshli. With new funding and with Dina El Haddad joining as co-founder and CPO, we can accelerate our tech-driven growth and take Efreshli to new heights, bringing us closer to our mission of making interior design accessible for everyone,” said Elgabaly.

Elhaddad said she was “thrilled” to be part of Efreshli’s journey to revolutionise the home furnishing experience, not just in Egypt but across the region. 

“Efreshli’s future is more than just furniture; it’s about building an entire ecosystem. With innovations like Efreshli Pro, we’re connecting the dots for everyone, from customers to designers, and making the process seamless,” she said.

Laila Hassan, general partner at Algebra Ventures, said Efreshli brought a refreshing designer-first approach to the entire customer journey. 

“Furniture is an important national industry. Egypt is the region’s largest exporter of furniture and has always benefitted from secular trends like near-shoring and an attractive labour market,” she said.

“Efreshli is well positioned to leverage the best of Egyptian design to serve customers across MENA. We believe there’s a lot to disrupt in this space and are thrilled to be partnering with Heba and Dina. Heba brings years of domain expertise to the table, having helped build Eklego, a leading furniture house, into the powerhouse that it is today. Dina is a technologist through and through, having spent many years in leadership roles at Google in the US before returning to Egypt.”