Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund has announced a new investment in Safra, a Ramallah-based online travel platform for travel agents in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Neither parties disclosed the amount invested, which will be used to expand Safra’s reach throughout the Arab world.

“It’s truly shocking that travel agents are still working on antiquated platforms that require them to basically code to book a flight,” said Thaer Samara, chief executive officer at Safra. “We set out to build a platform that not only offers them better prices, but that makes the process seamless.”

Safra’s technology linkss travel service providers on one platform, enabling travel agents to book full travel packages instead of compiling them individually.

“The Mena travel industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Travelers from the GCC alone spent more than $90 billion in outbound travel in 2017, the vast majority of which was booked through travel agents,” said Habib Hazzan, managing general partner at Ibtikar Fund. “Yet this industry remains small and fragmented and prone for disruption.”