Rwaj Raises $1.2mln Pre-Seed To Build The Middle East’s Live Shopping And Auction Marketplace

Rwaj, a live social shopping and auction marketplace built for the Middle East, today announced it has raised $1.2 million (SAR 4.5 million) in pre-seed funding to accelerate its growth and product development across the region.

Live commerce is already how the region shops; it just happens off-platform. Across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, thousands of independent sellers already sell live on social media: showing products on camera, taking orders in comments and direct messages, and settling payment by bank transfer. The experience is engaging, but nothing protects either side. Buyers pay before they see what they get. Sellers chase payments, manage shipping by hand, and lose their audience the moment the stream ends.

Rwaj moves that behavior onto a platform built for it. Sellers go live from the app and choose the format that fits each product: an instant buy at a fixed price, or a timed live auction where buyers compete in real time. Every purchase, instant or auction, is protected by escrow: funds are held until the item is delivered and confirmed. Shipping runs through carriers integrated directly into the app, and payments support Mada, Apple Pay, and cards. The app is Arabic-first and fully bilingual, and it is open to a wide range of categories: if a product sells better when shown live on camera, it has a place on Rwaj. The platform serves sellers across all GCC countries and welcomes buyers from anywhere in the world.

Rwaj is also built as a social app, not just a checkout. Buyers and sellers gather around the things they care about: buyers follow the sellers they trust, discover new ones through the community, and come back for the next stream rather than the next search result. For sellers, that means an audience that stays with them after the stream ends. For buyers, it means shopping alongside people who share their interests. Across all of it, Rwaj is focused on one thing: the smoothest possible experience for both sides, from the moment a seller goes live to the moment a buyer opens the box.

“Live selling in our region did not need to be invented. It needed to be made safe, and made native,” said Taher Alblowe, Founder and CEO of Rwaj. “We built Rwaj so a seller can go live, sell at a fixed price or by auction, get paid, and ship without leaving the app, and a buyer can purchase or bid knowing their money is protected until the item is in their hands. This round lets us reach many more sellers and buyers, in the region and beyond.”