Iraqi e-Commerce Platform 'Orisdi' Raises Six-figure Investment Round

Iraq-based e-commerce platform Orisdi has raised a six-figure investment round that saw the participation of new and existing investors including Al Sharqiya TV, Iraqi Angel Investors Network, and other angel investors.

Founded in 2019 by Ahmed Al Kiremi and Hala Usama, Orisdi is a vertically integrated e-commerce store that aims to provide buyers with a convenient shopping experience for a wide range of products including perfumes, cosmetics, appliances, stationary, and electronics, amongst other things.

The investment will be used to further scale the company and offer shoppers a seamless, convenient online experience.

“We plan to continue to focus on our winning categories as a vertically integrated e-commerce store and to offer only genuine brands,” Ahmed Al Kiremli, Founder and CEO of Orisdi, tells StartupScene.

Startups in Iraq have been attracting more funding in recent times. In H1’22, Iraqi startups secured $15 million over four deals, compared to $5 million over five deals in 2021, according to data platform Magnitt.

While the lion’s share of funding has been going to the transport and logistics sector, e-commerce startups in Iraq have also been paving the way for investments. Tip Top, a q-commerce food delivery startup, raised a total of $7 million since its founding in 2020, and Miswag, a B2C online marketplace, raised $1.6 million last year.

In addition, the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for e-commerce in Iraq is expected to continue growing in the next few years, thanks to its increasingly young and internet savvy population. TAM is estimated to reach more than $5 billion in 2022 and grow to over $8 billion in the next three years, according to Statista.

This round of investment has been facilitated by the Iraqi Angel Investors Network, an initiative by Kapita sponsored by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH via its project ‘ICT for Youth in Iraq’.