North Ladder, the UAE-based platform selling pre-owned luxury goods, raised $5 million in a Series A round to scale up its business and fuel its expansion across the region.
The fundraising, which was led by venture capital firm Beco Capital, will help the start-up expand its operations in Saudi Arabia and the US this year, the company said in a statement on Monday.
The latest investment will be used to improve customer experience, fuel geographic expansion and to scale the platform “significantly in the next 18 to 24 months”, it added.
North Ladder has demonstrated “tremendous success” with its model of helping customers access immediate funds against their assets, Dany Farha, Beco Capital’s chief executive and managing partner, said.
“The provision of a seamless and trusted digital platform for the sale of pre-owned goods has immense socially transformative potential at a global scale,” he added.
North Ladder is among a handful of e-commerce marketplaces for used luxury goods that have raised funding. Last year, Huda Beauty Investments – the investment arm of cosmetics firm Huda Beauty – completed an $11m round along with VC firm MEVP in another pre-owned luxury goods e-commerce site The Luxury Closet.
North Ladder, which was previously called BuyBack Bazaar, allows users to sell electronics such as phones, laptops, tablets and smart watches, as well as luxury items including watches and cars, with an option to buy them back within a few months. It provides access to verified buyers of second-hand goods and instant cash.
Founded in 2018, it has witnessed over 15,000 transactions in the UAE and has served customers of more than 85 nationalities.
A partnership with Dubai-based Beco Capital gives the start-up an opportunity to scale operations in the UAE and expand to other strategic markets, with the “mission of meaningfully impacting people across all strata of society”, Sandeep Shetty, chief executive and co-founder of North Ladder, said.
“Our global auction brings professional buyers from around the world to compete and provide local customers with the best prices and no hidden surprises,” he added.
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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INFO
Everton 0
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Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
