Benefits Platform Thriwe Bags Funding From Al Multaq Group To Enter Saudi Arabia

B2B customer benefits startup Thriwe on Tuesday (June 20) said it has bagged funding from the Al Multaq Group to expand into the Saudi Arabian market.

Saudi Arabia-based Al Multaq Group is focussed on venture capital and private equity sector. It has presence across industries like real estate, hospitality, financial services, among others. 

In a statement, Thriwe said that the fresh funding would support its launch and operations in Saudi Arabia. However, it didn’t disclose the funding amount. 

Thriwe said it aims to generate a revenue of around $100 Mn from the Saudi market over the next 36 months.

Founded in 2011 by Dhruv Verma and Swati Sharma, Thriwe operates in the loyalty and rewards domain and helps businesses acquire, engage, and retain customers. Headquartered in India, the startup has offices in the UAE, Singapore, London, and Florida. 

Thriwe majorly focuses on the companies in the travel, entertainment, and lifestyle sectors. It offers end-to-end benefits offering, which includes a technology platform, benefit curation and onboarding, and customer experience. 

The partnership with Al Multaq will provide Thriwe local market knowledge, expertise and access to a vast network of potential clients and partners, the statement said.

Commenting on the fund raise, CEO and founder Verma said, “We have been doing reasonably well in Dubai and have been associated with various financial institutions like FAB, Mashreq, RakBank, ENBD, etc, running as managing loyalty programs for them as well. Our goal is to empower businesses in Saudi Arabia with a user-friendly and customisable platform that will enable them to build stronger relationships with their customers by driving loyalty and retention.”

The development comes almost a month after Thriwe acquired UCare Health, a digital health and financial wellness platform. According to the startup, this was its sixth acquisition in six years.

Thriwe works with companies like Amex, Mastercard, Visa, HSBC, Standard Chartered, HDFC, Axis Bank, Mashreq Bank, Union Pay, among others. 

It is backed by the likes of YourNest fund and Africa’s Ison Networks.  

The funding announcement comes at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem is reeling under the effects of the ongoing funding winter. The funding raised by Indian startups declined 37.5% year-on-year to $1 Bn in May 2023, while the number of deals also plunged 32% to 80.