By : Amir Taha
Shapes Defined, the Middle East’s largest digital content studio, today announces a major new investment from venture capitalists Access Bridge Ventures. The $1m funding will enable the fully automated studio to continue its remarkable rise and assist more clients in the creation of cutting edge content for the e-commerce marketplace.
Issa Aghabi, Managing Partner at Access Bridge Ventures, said, “Identifying talented people with passion is at the core of what we do and that’s why we have chosen to support Shapes Defined and it’s co-founder Muna Salah. We see tremendous potential in the business and we are excited to work with Muna to grow the company and take it to the next level.”
Muna Salah commented, “We are delighted to begin this exciting new relationship with Access Bridge Ventures. I believe Issa and his experienced team are the perfect fit for Shapes Defined and I see a bright future ahead as we look to expand in the Middle East and other global markets.”
Access Bridge Ventures is a leading early-stage $35m venture capital fund that invests in entrepreneurs in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and beyond. Driven by a hugely knowledgeable investment team and equipped with a strong regional network, Access Bridge Ventures enjoys success across a number of sectors such as Edutech, Fintech and Healthtech.
Founded in the UAE in 2017, Shapes Defined is the largest studio for digital content in the Middle East and counts Amazon and Majid Al Futtaim among its clients. By reacting swiftly and smartly to the increasing demands of a digital world, Shapes Defined provides its customers, SMEs, and large enterprises with high quality materials in rapid response times, thus enabling products to be activated in the online retail space with maximum efficiency. Thanks to its proprietary Shapes Defined Content Platform, the studio is able to accommodate large volumes of product cataloguing,
Using the latest technology and state-of-the-art photographic facilities to produce colourful and vibrant images, the highly experienced and endlessly creative team at Shapes Defined has streamlined the process for clients both in the region and around the world.
Conscious of the urgency that is critical to achieving success in e-commerce, Shapes Defined is powered by innovative technology that enables uploaded images to be modified in real time based on a client’s immediate feedback. While the rest of the content creation industry remains bogged down in approval times of 10-14 days, Shapes Defined reacts instantaneously, saving the client precious time and money. The integrated copywriting team at Shapes Defined works in tandem with the design division to amend copy simultaneously.
Every month Shapes Defined takes around 30,000 products and generates more than 150,000 images, videos, 360 animations and 3D imagery. Assisted by an extensive network of vetted vendors in the Middle East, Shapes Defined has the unparalleled ability to produce huge amounts of content without cutting corners on quality. Less than 48 hours after booking a session, products are acquired, photographed, retouched and delivered to the client.
Co-founder of Shapes Defined is the tech entrepreneur and influential female business leader Muna Salah. Previously at Microsoft and Goldman Sachs, Muna has more than 10 years of regional start-up experience in the tech sector. Identifying the growth and extraordinary potential of e-commerce – and utilising her keen eye for trends – she launched Shapes Defined in 2017 with a vision of becoming a pioneer in product cataloguing around the world.
By prioritising client feedback and quality of work, Muna and Shapes Defined quickly established a stellar reputation for outstanding creativity and proactive customer relations. During the pandemic, Shapes Defined expanded its reach in the region with increased output. Fuelled by Muna’s entrepreneurial sprit, Shapes Defined became the first organisation to use fully automated studio technology in the Middle East.
“Throughout the years of dealing with our clients, we noticed that businesses find it extremely difficult to digitise their products,” explains Muna. “There are many steps until the product appears online. We streamlined the process, and brought the best parts of the physical customer experience into the digital realm.”
She adds, “We are the only integrated platform with a comprehensive library of solutions built to support e-commerce digital content delivery processes at high quality. With more than 600 clients across more than a dozen sectors – including fashion, jewellery, cosmetics and furniture – we specialise in capturing a variety of products with unmatched quality to give clients and their customers a truly immersive buying experience.”
