Al Mada Ventures led the Series A round in Journify, an advertising-technology company whose software helps businesses send customer-purchase data to platforms operated by Google, Meta, TikTok, Snap and Amazon.
Silicon Badia, which previously invested in Journify, co-led the round. Shorooq and Bunat Ventures increased their investments, while Du Ventures and Oraseya Capital joined as new backers.
The investment was completed at four times Journify’s previous valuation, although the company did not disclose the resulting valuation or the ownership stakes acquired by its investors.
In its funding announcement, Journify said the capital would support its expansion into the US and Europe and strengthen the artificial-intelligence capabilities behind its advertising-data platform.
The company said its revenue had grown more than fivefold since Silicon Badia’s initial investment. However, it did not disclose its current revenue or the figure from which that growth was calculated.
The precise amount contributed by Al Mada Ventures was also not disclosed. The $12 million represents the size of the entire round, rather than Al Mada Ventures’ individual investment.
Morocco’s royal investor turns towards America’s advertising market
Al Mada Ventures describes itself as a $110 million venture-capital fund backed entirely by African capital. It invests in technology companies capable of expanding across Africa and international markets.
The venture fund is associated with Al Mada, one of Morocco’s largest private investment groups. Al Mada has interests spanning banking, mining, energy, telecommunications, retail, property and tourism.
Al Mada is a private investment fund controlled by Morocco’s royal family. Its portfolio includes Inwi, Morocco’s third-largest telecommunications operator, alongside interests in Attijariwafa Bank, mining company Managem and energy producer Nareva.
That connection makes the Journify deal a rare US technology investment involving capital linked to King Mohammed VI’s family.
Journify’s attempt to enter the American market also places the Moroccan-backed company inside the world’s largest digital-advertising economy.
US internet advertising revenue reached a record $294.6 billion in 2025, increasing by 13.9% from the previous year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s annual report conducted by PwC.
Programmatic advertising—the automated buying and placement of online advertisements—generated $162.4 billion, increasing by 20.5%. Social-media advertising revenue reached $117.7 billion, while search advertising generated $114.2 billion.
That expanding market is increasingly dependent on algorithms that decide which consumers see particular advertisements and how much advertisers pay to reach them.
Global advertising spending is forecast to reach $1.06 trillion in 2026, with algorithms expected to influence 75% of advertising expenditure by 2028, according to Dentsu.
How Journify plans to compete with larger technology companies
Journify sits between a company’s internal customer records and the digital platforms on which it advertises.
Its software collects information from websites, mobile applications, physical-store sales, customer-management systems and ecommerce platforms. It then validates and transfers approved information about purchases, registrations and other transactions to advertising platforms.
The objective is to help advertising algorithms distinguish between people who merely click on advertisements and customers who complete purchases or generate long-term value.
Journify says more than 100 businesses use its platform, collectively representing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual advertising expenditure.
Among its customers is Saudi retailer Jarir Bookstore, which Journify says recorded a 182% increase in its return on advertising expenditure on Meta. Ecommerce company Baytonia reportedly increased its return on TikTok advertising by 80% and reduced its cost per purchase by 44%.
These performance figures were supplied by Journify and have not been independently audited.
The company already uses artificial intelligence to monitor customer-data connections, detect incomplete information and correct signal-quality problems. Part of the new investment will be used to expand those capabilities.
Journify is led by co-founder and chief executive Taoufik El Jamali and has offices in San Francisco, Dubai and Riyadh. Its founding team also includes Amine Chouki and Omar Al Shoubaki.
Before the latest round, Silicon Badia led a $4 million investment in the company. Journify said at the time that it had reached $1 million in annual recurring revenue within nine months of its commercial launch in March 2024.
The company must now establish whether the traction it reported among Gulf retailers can be reproduced in the more competitive US and European advertising markets.
Al Mada Ventures is extending the Moroccan royal family-linked group’s investment reach beyond its traditional African holdings into the infrastructure underpinning global digital advertising.
The deal also adds a San Francisco-based technology company targeting the world’s largest digital-advertising market to its portfolio.
Source: africa.businessinsider.com
