Social media remains big business, and while Facebook continues to dominate the arena (2.23 billion users) the popularity of social media (and the lucrative advertising that comes with it) shows not signs of abating. Into the social media space comes a new player, called Fayvo.
Announced by Fahad Al Saud, the founder of the social sharing application, Saudi-based Fayvo has been made available via iOS and Android, and the company has the aim of changing how people interact on social media. This involves sharing content from the likes of iTunes, IMDB, and YouTube. Content is organized in terms of categories, designed to allow users to tracks the programs that they like to watch, read, eat or travel to.
Fayvo is designed to be a new type of social sharing experience, with the focus of creating “an engaging focus among friends and family often missing from other platforms”. The company’s business model is based on expanding its user base via social commerce, which involves being able to monetize through native ads powered by a friend’s recommendation.
The company has built up its user base steadily ahead of its U.S. / global launch, with 100,000 users signed up to date. This growing number of users has enabled Fayvo to achieve a high-rating on both Google Play and Apple’s App Store and to raise money. The company’s expansion into the U.S. follows a funding round that raised over $1.5 million, which is said by the company to be the highest amount ever received by a Middle Eastern start-up.
After joining the 500 startups accelerator program in January (the MENA Growth Accelerator program), the company has been growing very quickly, increasing its active users 280 percent in just 6 months and opening its series A round.