Saudi-based fashion e-commerce startup Aya has successfully closed a Series A investment round totaling $7 million (SAR 26 million). The funding round was led by RAED Ventures, with significant participation from Nuwa Capital, Sanabil Investments (a wholly owned company of the Public Investment Fund), Joa Capital, and Khwarizmi Ventures. This capital injection follows a $1.6 million seed round completed in early 2025, underscoring the rapid investor confidence in the startup’s disruptive approach to the regional retail sector.
Disrupting Traditional Fashion With A Demand Driven Model
Founded in 2024 by Munira Al Kadi and Abdulrahman Al Ammar, Aya has pioneered a demand-driven production model designed to eliminate the guesswork inherent in traditional fashion cycles. Rather than relying on seasonal forecasts and bulk inventory, the platform launches trends in real time. Aya tests over 700 new designs every month, utilizing live customer engagement data to validate demand within hours.
This “test-and-repeat” strategy ensures that capital is only deployed toward manufacturing products that have already demonstrated clear market traction. By routing production through a highly agile and distributed network of manufacturers, Aya maintains a fast turnaround time, allowing it to offer a vast and constantly evolving collection at competitive price points.
Validating Scale Within The Regional Abaya Market
The startup initially proved the efficacy of its real-time production model within the $3.5 billion abaya market in Saudi Arabia. This focused entry point allowed Aya to refine its supply chain and data analytics capabilities. The results have been significant; in less than two years, the company has scaled to a team of more than 60 professionals, served over 100,000 customers, and achieved a 9x year-on-year growth rate.
Strategic Expansion Across New Product Categories
With the new Series A capital, Aya plans to transcend its initial focus on modest wear. The company is set to apply its on-demand manufacturing framework to a broader range of fashion and lifestyle segments across the GCC. By leveraging its data-centric platform, Aya aims to become the primary destination for trend-driven, culturally relevant fashion in the region, providing a localized alternative to global fast-fashion giants.
About Aya
Aya is a Saudi Arabian fashion technology platform that operates a real-time, demand-driven model for the GCC retail market. By testing hundreds of designs monthly and utilizing a distributed manufacturing network, the company produces only what customers engage with, reducing waste and ensuring a constant flow of on-trend apparel. Since its launch in 2024, Aya has rapidly expanded from a niche marketplace into a high-growth data-driven fashion house.
Source: Wamda
