Gameball, a customer relationship management (CRM) tech company, has raised $3.5 million in a new funding round led by 500 Global, P1 Ventures, Launch Africa, and Middle East VCs Seedra Ventures, Arzan Ventures, Propeller, Core Vision, as well as a number of regional investors.

The customer intelligence and marketing platform was launched in 2020 by Egyptian entrepreneurs Ahmed Khairy (CEO) Ahmed El Assy (CPO), and Omar Alfar (CTO). The startup boasts of how brands leverage their tools to build long-term relationships with their customers, ensuring retention through personalized loyalty programs that are informed by data for their businesses.

Speaking about the funding round, Khairy revealed that the startup has experienced immense growth since its launch, serving over 7,000 businesses and reaching 20 million customers. Khairy also revealed that this funding will aid a massive marketing drive and setting up hubs in regions where its platform is in demand over the next year.

“Moving forward we are focusing more on commercializing the product. We are also trying to focus on certain countries that will give us access to certain regions…like the U.K to give us access to Europe, and Saudi Arabia for the GCC region,” said Khairy.

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“We have been seeing a lot of growth coming from those markets, and beyond being mature markets, it’s easier for them to adopt solutions and technologies like Gameball. Their economies are kind of stable, enabling us to better leverage them for growth.”

Hisham Halbouny, the general partner at P1 Ventures, also revealed that: “The consumer landscape is evolving rapidly with brands competing for customer engagement, trust and retention. Gameball is solving a large multi-billion-dollar challenge that can transform digital marketing, customer loyalty and monetization around the world. We are thrilled to back the team on their journey as they grow their footprint in new markets.”

The founders ventured into Gameball as a Shopify app, before moving on to build its own API solution for businesses outside Shopify.

Gameball’s customers cut across all sectors including e-commerce, retail, and fintech. Its clientele includes Sega, Xiaomi, Experience Philippines and Breadfast.