Jeddah-based startup Rwaj has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding to build a dedicated live-commerce marketplace for the Middle East, bringing livestreaming, instant purchases, auctions and escrow-protected payments into one platform.
Founded by Taher Alblowe, Rwaj is betting that the region does not need to be convinced to shop through live video. Instead, it needs the infrastructure to make a behavior that is already happening across social media safer, easier and more scalable.
The Live Shopping Behavior Already Exists
Across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf, independent sellers have increasingly turned to social media to sell products through livestreams. Sellers showcase products on camera, answer questions in real time and take orders through comments or direct messages, often relying on bank transfers and manually arranged deliveries.
The model creates an engaging shopping experience, but it also leaves significant gaps. Buyers may have to pay before receiving the product, while sellers are left chasing payments, coordinating deliveries and managing orders manually. Once a livestream ends, the relationship with the audience can also disappear into a social-media feed.
Rwaj is designed to bring this entire experience onto a purpose-built marketplace.
From Livestream To Checkout
With Rwaj, sellers can go live directly from the app and choose how they want to sell. They can offer products at a fixed price through an instant-buy option or create timed auctions where buyers compete against one another in real time.
The platform also addresses one of the biggest problems in social commerce: trust.
Every transaction is protected through escrow, with the buyer’s funds held until the product is delivered and confirmed. Rwaj also integrates shipping into the platform, while supporting payment methods including Mada, Apple Pay and cards.
The company says its Arabic-first, bilingual experience is designed specifically for the region, while sellers from across all GCC countries can use the platform and buyers can participate from anywhere in the world.
More Than An Online Marketplace
Rwaj is also positioning itself as a social network built around shopping. Instead of simply searching for products, buyers can follow sellers they trust, discover new sellers through the community and return for future livestreams. The idea is to turn shopping from a transaction into an ongoing relationship between sellers and their audiences.
For sellers, this could mean building an audience that remains valuable even after a livestream ends. For buyers, it creates a more interactive experience where they can discover products and participate in communities built around shared interests.
The model is particularly suited to products where seeing the item demonstrated or discussed live can influence the buying decision.
“It Needed To Be Made Safe”
“Live selling in our region did not need to be invented. It needed to be made safe, and made native,” said Taher Alblowe, Founder and CEO of Rwaj.
He said the company wants sellers to be able to go live, sell through fixed prices or auctions, receive payment and arrange shipping without leaving the platform, while giving buyers greater confidence that their money is protected until the product reaches them.
The $1.2 million investment will allow Rwaj to expand its reach among sellers and buyers while continuing to develop the product across the region and internationally.
Building For The GCC’s Next Commerce Layer
The opportunity Rwaj is pursuing sits at the intersection of social media, ecommerce and live entertainment. Traditional ecommerce is largely built around search: customers look for a product, compare options and complete a transaction. Live commerce changes that dynamic by putting the seller, product and community into the same experience.
For Rwaj, the ambition is to build that experience around the way Middle Eastern consumers and sellers already interact online rather than forcing them into a conventional ecommerce model.
Its early focus will remain on expanding across the GCC, while keeping the platform open to international buyers.
The bet is straightforward: if live shopping is already happening informally across the region, the next opportunity may be to give it the infrastructure of a marketplace.
