Revibe, a Dubai-based marketplace specializing in refurbished electronics, has successfully secured $17 million in a Series A funding round led by Partech. The investment, drawn from Partech’s Africa II fund, underscores the Paris-headquartered VC’s continued aggressive deployment strategy across emerging markets. The round also saw participation from e& capital, Burda Principal Investments, and EQNX, alongside existing investors. This deal highlights a growing trend of “cross-border” African tech plays, which strategically combine the higher purchasing power of Gulf markets (like the UAE and Saudi Arabia) with the significant operational talent and scale offered by North African hubs such as Egypt.
Revibe, founded in 2022 by Moroccans Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour, is aiming to standardize the historically fragmented secondhand electronics market across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, mirroring the success of the French unicorn Back Market. Addressing the primary hurdle of trust in this sector, Revibe operates a strict “gatekeeper” model. The company ensures that every device sold—including smartphones and laptops—undergoes a rigorous 50-point inspection process and is backed by a comprehensive one-year warranty.
The company’s dual-hub structure is central to its economic model. While the commercial headquarters in Dubai targets the wealthier consumers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the operational heavy lifting, including engineering and crucial quality control, is increasingly centralized in Egypt. This geographical split allows Revibe to maintain a lower burn rate compared to competitors focused purely on the Gulf region. The newly secured $17 million will be utilized to further tighten these quality controls, aggressively expand into new markets within the GCC, and potentially broaden into other emerging markets where the affordability necessity of “re-commerce” is gaining momentum due to inflationary pressures.
The investment in Revibe is characteristic of the sheer speed of deployment from Partech Africa II, the €280 million fund that closed at its hard cap in late 2024. While many VCs have paused or slowed down, Partech has adopted a contrarian, high-volume approach, positioning itself as a lead investor capable of de-risking significant rounds. This strategy is evident in Partech’s recent flurry of activity: in May 2025 alone, the firm led or participated in four other major deals, including a massive $75 million round for proptech Nawy (Egypt) and a $13 million pre-Series C for MoneyFellows (Egypt). This activity confirms that despite Egypt’s macroeconomic challenges, Partech is betting on the country’s long-term fundamentals of market size and tech talent. With €280 million in dry powder and a new office established in Lagos, Partech is signaling a path of continued expansion, aiming to back 20 to 25 startups with more concentrated ownership stakes.
