Egypt’s WayUp Sports is an e-commerce platform specialised in performance-based sports gear – so far, so normal, until you discover its founded by three siblings and is already set for international expansion after banking funding.
Founded in 2021 by siblings Omar, Mohamed and Basma Afif, WayUp Sports aims to meet the demand for diverse specialised and performance-based sportswear and equipment, sourced directly from local and international brands, suitable for young aspiring athletes to professional champions.
The startup provides customers with a flexible shopping journey, by managing the end-to-end product warehousing, quality check, the sales and delivery processes, in addition to offering diverse payment solutions, deals, and customer service personnel, trained to assist sports enthusiasts.
WayUp’s three sibling founders are backed by 35 years of expertise in their family’s B2B sports gear business, and their individual passion for sports. They decided to establish WayUp Sports to innovate the sports gear retail space, and empower athletes of all levels
“WayUp Sports is filling a gap in performance-based sportswear and equipment for more than 15 sports and from more than 70 local and international specialised brands, accessible to everyone through the website and application,” said Mohamed Afifi, the startup’s co-founder and co-CEO.
WayUp Sports was first funded by the three siblings’ family business to launch in 2021, and raised a pre-seed round in 2022. Since then, it has grown nine-fold, with over 10,000 products serving 100,000 customers.
“There was a market gap as the sports enthusiasts were always looking for one-stop-shop to cover all their needs, so when we launched we had very positive feedback and it helped us to grow business consistently and find traction from day one,” Mohamed said.
In November, Disrupt Africa reported it had secured an undisclosed seed round, led by Beltone Venture Capital, Index Sports Fund, and other strategic angel investors. WayUp Sports will use the funding to aid its regional expansion, launch a private WayUp Sports brand, and continue enhancing user experience.
WayUp Sports, which makes money through commissions on sales, commercial deals, and selling its digital assets, currently only operates in Egypt, but is targeting expansion into the Arab region soon.
