The story of Salla: how Salla went from Makkah to competing with Shopify in Saudi Arabia
The story of Salla and its founders Nawaf Hariri and Salman Butt: from a tool that made selling on social media easier in Makkah in 2016, to an Arabic store platform with more than 68,000 merchants, and a $130 million round in 2024 led by Investcorp with Sanabil.
Full film transcript
Imagine, two guys from Makkah built a platform that competes with Shopify in Saudi Arabia.
And today it has more than 68,000 merchants.
This is the story of Salla.
Salla, simply put: you open your online store in Arabic.
And you don't need to write a single line of code.
It started in Makkah in 2016, by Nawaf Hariri and Salman Butt.
At first, it was a tool that made selling through social media easier.
The idea was simple.
The merchant here doesn't want translated foreign software. He wants a platform made for his market.
So how does it make money? It has a free plan with no commission on your sales, and paid plans.
And around the store there are services: payments, shipping, and more than 900 apps.
In 2020, it raised $8.5 million, and it had 10,000 merchants.
And in 2024, it raised $130 million, led by Investcorp with Sanabil.
So how do you compete with Shopify? With localization.
Mada, Apple Pay, Tabby, and Tamara, shipping with Aramex and SMSA, and e-invoicing ready to go.
Shopify is stronger at global selling.
But Salla speaks the language of the Saudi merchant.
The lesson for you as a founder: don't copy the global product.
Build the version that understands your market.
Follow us at Saudi Founders, more stories are coming.
Detailed figures and sources are in the Salla profile in the directory.
