Dubai's Washmen Raises $6.2m Series B to Scale App-Based Laundry Service
The on-demand dry-cleaning and laundry startup adds strategic backers including Henkel as it firms up UAE operations and eyes new markets.
Washmen, a Dubai-based app for on-demand laundry and dry cleaning, has raised $6.2 million in a Series B round led by AddVenture, taking the company's total funding to about $7.8 million. The round drew a mix of strategic and venture investors.
Participants included German consumer-goods group Henkel, Lebanon's Cedar Mundi Ventures, B&Y Partners and UAE-based Clara. Washmen operates a technology-driven model that collects, cleans and delivers laundry through its app, combining a consumer-facing service with back-end operational software and a technology hub in Lebanon.
The company said the capital would help solidify its operations in the UAE and expand its digital technology capabilities, while it evaluated further international growth in markets including Saudi Arabia and parts of Asia. Founded by Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui, Washmen has sought to bring reliability and scheduling convenience to a fragmented, largely offline laundry sector.
The raise highlighted continued backing for asset-heavy but tech-enabled on-demand services in the Gulf, where founders bet that operational excellence and repeat usage can turn everyday household chores into durable subscription-like businesses.