Revibe, a Dubai-based startup that buys, refurbishes and sells electronic devices — smartphones, laptops, tablets and smart watches — has secured $2.3 million in funding from a combination of local and international angel investors and venture capitalist firms. The latter include Resonance, Techmind, Financière Saint James — all of which are based in France — and Flat6Labs.
Founded in July 2022 by Abdessamad Benzakour and Hamza Iraqui, product refurbishment at Revibe is overseen by a team of French engineers. Products are graded into three categories: ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ and ‘good.’ Iraqui commented that the company plans to “gradually introduce all categories of electronics” as it scales up.
Refurbishment work is carried out by third parties, with Revibe using a proprietary AI algorithm to monitor quality. The company currently operates in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Benzakour said: “We saw that there is an abundant supply of eco-friendly electronics, both locally and through imports. But in spite of the booming demand for more affordable green tech products, there was no established, trusted party capable of providing quality-controlled devices at scale.”
According to Maxime Le Dantec, partner and co-founder of Resonance, “When we met Hamza and Abdessamad, we were impressed by their execution and ambition to build the leading refurbishing marketplace for electronic devices in MENA [the Middle East and North Africa].”