The Venture Codex

Led · Series B · May 2024

Merit is a global engagement technology and solutions company that provides a suite of cloud-based SaaS platforms, enterprise solutions, applications and software to increase customer and employee engagement. The company serves over 6,000 brands across 160 countries. Co-founded by Julie Barbier-Leblan and Thrishan Padayachi, Merit operates from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It plans to use the new funding to expand operations and accelerate development efforts. The business positions itself as a provider of scalable engagement tools for enterprises and brands worldwide. Merit Incentives provides B2B2C customer and employee engagement software, including Rewardsby (a loyalty and rewards marketplace) and GiftCardsby (a digital gift card platform). The company operates a rewards network of about 5,000 partner brands across 100+ countries and counts more than 500 retailers and merchants in the GCC. Its client list includes Riyad Bank, Vodafone, Mubadala, Adidas, and Amazon, and the platform has surpassed 20 million end users globally. Merit has offices in Saudi Arabia, the UK, Kuwait, Egypt, and Jordan, and a technology lab and development team in Lahore, Pakistan. The company plans to expand its team into new territories and invest in technology, with a specific focus on building out its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.