Saudi Arabia-based peer-to-peer (P2P) vehicle sharing platform Ejaro, has raised a $850,000 (SAR 3.2 million) seed round, led by Saudi Arabia-based angel investors and supported by BIM Ventures.

Founded in 2019, Ejaro provides car owners with the opportunity to make extra money by enabling them to rent out their cars to those in need of one. Ejaro is the first platform in Saudi Arabia to acquire a licence to operate as a P2P car-sharing model.

“We are very thrilled about this milestone for Ejaro, which comes in time with the launch of our new and improved application and the finalising of the new licence requirements for peer-to-peer vehicle sharing from the Saudi Transport General Authority,” said Mohammed Khashoggi, founder and CEO of Ejaro.

According to Khashoggi, the startup aims to tap into the regional car rental market, valued at over $4 billion, adding that the market is set to experience a large potential growth in the post-Covid19 economy.

“With millions out of jobs and rental companies struggling, our platform empowers owners to earn an additional source of income through their depreciating assets and share it with the masses, I truly believe that Ejaro will boom in the coming weeks,” he added.

The platform was first established as a co-sponsor of the Riyadh Season - an entertainment and tourism event in Saudi Arabia and has recently launched a peer-to-peer vehicle sharing insurance policy, in partnership with Kingdom Brokerage and MedGulf.

Mohamed Amine Merah, Ejaro’s finance and strategy partner and managing partner of BIM Ventures said: “We are proud that Ejaro, with its dynamic leadership and team, was able to come out of the Covid-19 crisis with a success story. During the downtime, we were able to develop and launch a new and improved app, build strategic partnerships, and solidified our internal processes.”

Merah added that the company plans to expand its geographical focus, starting with the UAE in 2021.  

The funds will be used to accelerate the development of additional features on the platform, to increase the hosted cars and renters’ bases, and to expand the teams capacity.