Journify Doubles Valuation, Spearheads Gulf Digitech with AI-Driven Marketing

Malaz Madani

Last updated 23-07-2025

4 min

Journify doubled its valuation in six months, spurred by strategic backing in the Gulf.

Significant funding from heavyweights like Shorooq aims to boost AI solutions and regional presence.

Journify's tools helped big clients like Jarir and Baytonia dramatically improve ad spend returns.

Gulf brands face challenges with fragmented data but are pursuing efficiency through first-party solutions.

The company focuses on privacy-centric marketing, enhanced by AI to optimise first-party data usage.

It’s not every day you see a startup from the Gulf double its valuation in just half a year, but that’s exactly what Journify has managed – and there’s no sign of the brakes going on anytime soon. For those of us rooting for innovation across the MENA region, news like this genuinely stirs up a sense of possibility. The platform, which calls the UAE home, has also raked in a new round of strategic funding led by heavy-hitters like Shorooq, Bunat Ventures, and Plug and Play. The aim? Fuel smarter AI solutions, build out the team, and lock in their footprint across the Gulf.

What really turns heads is their growth in revenue – we’re talking a five-fold increase in just six months. Not to mention, Journify has smoothly expanded operations in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and the broader Gulf. It’s no wonder local brands are flocking to them, especially as privacy laws get stricter and those pesky third-party cookies start disappearing.

At the heart of Journify’s approach is first-party data activation—a bit of a faff to set up on your own, but crucial for today’s market. Big-name clients like Jarir, the retail giant, and Baytonia, a top furniture e-commerce player, have already tasted success through Journify’s tools. With Jarir, activating their own customer data through Meta resulted in a whopping 182% boost in return on ad spend and a 51% dip in customer acquisition cost. Baytonia, using Journify on TikTok, saw similar scenes: 80% up in ad returns, 44% sliced from purchasing costs. It’s the kind of proof any startup would be chuffed to bits with.

Of course, digital advertisers in MENA aren’t exactly lounging about. The region is one of the world’s fastest-growing digital ad markets. Spending in 2024 jumped 20% to hit $7 billion, according to the local IAB chapter. On the flip side, brands are still wrestling with fragmented data, patchy transparency, and frustratingly basic analytics. As Ian Manning, executive director at IAB MENA, put it, “Brands here want more transparency and efficiency with their marketing spend. First-party data solutions and AI-driven optimisation will be leading the next wave of growth.” I reckon he’s spot on—nobody wants to throw money at vague metrics anymore.

What sets Journify apart is their focus on privacy-friendly performance marketing. Rather than just chasing clicks, they’re using AI to help brands make the most of the data they already have, all while respecting ever-tightening regulations. CEO and co-founder Taoufik El Jamali has summed up their mission neatly: “We’re reimagining the brand-customer relationship, empowering companies to truly leverage their first-party data… Our client results show this approach is ushering in a new era of digital marketing.”

The new investment will go towards beefing up Journify’s AI roadmap—think smart marketing agents, hyper-personalisation, real-time campaign tweaks, and higher conversion rates all across the customer journey. Plus, they’re hiring (always a good sign), with engineering, product, and sales teams set to expand. As Omar Zabit from Shorooq points out, Journify is now tackling one of digital advertising’s biggest headaches: the underuse of first-party data. His take? As the rules change, this kind of infrastructure will shift from ‘nice-to-have’ to ‘must-have’ for marketers in the years ahead.

Having spent a fair bit of time championing MENA startups through Arageek, I’ve seen a lot of ambitious claims. But seeing real client numbers and rapid regional traction makes Journify’s story one to watch. There’s still a mountain to climb – no startup journey is ever a walk in the park – but if they keep up this pace and innovation, the digital marketing landscape in the Gulf might look quite different soon… in a good way, if you ask me.

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