Summary
ViaVii is a hyper-personalized online marketplace, a women-owned business, that incorporates all travelers’ preferences with on-the-go adjustable itineraries and reliable synthesized data to book authentic and local in-destination experiences and activities, by directly connecting travelers with local hosts. ViaVii was established in 2017, currently has 350 hosts in 50 global cities located in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Lebanon, Italy, France, Indonesia and Kenya, and is connected with the Jordan Trail and ParisNet.
Investment Thesis
ViaVii’s estimated annual revenue is currently $2.6M per year and has grown their employee count by 136% last year. Its services in providing a platform for in-destination activities and experiences are uniquely positioned within a large market of traditional itinerary-booking platforms. Investments will expand ViaVii’s marketing, operations, as well as technical and product development, developing a SAAS model for hosts to help them create and manage experiences through their own booking platform which is estimated to significantly boost revenue.
Refugee Impact
ViaVii mainly targets local hosts from marginalized areas who lack visibility and the digital experience to offer unique cultural experiences on the platform. ViaVii hosts a number of businesses on their platforms that are owned and managed by refugees including Palestinian, Syrian, Sudanese, and Somali refugees. So far, ViaVii has managed to create over 400 jobs and up to 90 home-based businesses in the areas they are operating in, and has designed over 1000 experiences through empowering communities in marginalized areas and training curators through their capacity building programs. All of this resulted in generating new sources of income for local communities by digitalizing the booking of their offer.
Management
Ibrahim Abu Rajab – Co-Founder
Rola Fayyad – Co-Founder