Jordan-based e-book subscription service Abjjad, has raised a $1 million Series A funding round from Rimal Capital, JordInvest and The Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF).

Founded by Eman Hylooz in 2012, the Abjjad platform offers users unlimited access to over 6000 Arabic e-books and novels for a monthly fee of $5.99. 

"We at Abjjad, consider ourselves lucky to have onboard strategic investors that will take the company to the next level, we are very excited about the next stage and we already are witnessing at the very moment the growth within our team, our users, our publishers, and our beloved writers,” said Eman Hylooz, founder and CEO of Abjjad.

While only 3 per cent of internet content is in Arabic, Arabic speaking users on the internet are the fourth largest in the world. The startup looks to tap into 180 million users who are frequent Arabic book readers. 

“ISSF is excited about investing in Abjjad, an innovative provider of much-needed Arabic digital content. At ISSF, we are always delighted to help innovative and scalable startups, particularly those managed by women and youth, achieve their full potential,” said Laith Al Qasem, CEO of ISSF.

Abjad currently has 1.5 million registered readers and writers and is aiming to onboard 20 million. With the new funding, the company will be able to invest in its platform, enhance user experience and acquire more e-books.

"Although we live a busy life, many still want to read and because this need is fulfilled by Abjjad in a unique model, you find Abjjad to be one of the few businesses that started working even before being extensively worked on,” said Obaida Rawashdeh, CEO of Rimal Capital.

"As a regional investment house, Jordinvest is shifting its strategy towards investing in the new economy, whereby Abjjad correlates best with this vision in terms of technology, market reach and content,” said Ahmed Tantash, CEO at JordInvest.