Company Profile
Re-Commerce
Circular Economy
NorthLadder
The Dubai-founded platform turning old phones into instant cash - and auctioning them to a network of global buyers so used devices get a genuine second life.
The Dubai-founded platform turning old phones into instant cash - and auctioning them to a network of global buyers so used devices get a genuine second life.
Most people have a drawer somewhere with a dead phone in it. NorthLadder was built on the hunch that the drawer is a market failure - and that the right technology could turn a forgotten gadget back into money for its owner and a working device for someone else.
Founded in Dubai in 2017 - originally under the name BuyBack Bazaar - the company rebranded to NorthLadder in 2021 and shifted from a single storefront into a full platform. At its center sits an idea that sounds obvious once you hear it: instead of quoting one take-it-or-leave-it price for a used device, NorthLadder puts each item in front of a network of global buyers and lets competitive bids set the value. The seller gets cash on the spot; the device gets a second life; less electronic waste heads to the landfill.
The company is led by co-founder and CEO Sandeep Shetty, who previously ran Careem's ride-hailing business as a managing director before Careem's $3.1 billion sale to Uber in 2019. Co-founder Mihin Shah, who came through McKinsey and the Landmark Group, runs operations. That pairing - consumer-tech scale on one side, supply-chain and retail depth on the other - shows up in how NorthLadder has grown: fast, and across borders.
Market-size figure reflects widely-cited industry projections for the pre-owned smartphone market around 2026; funding and headcount figures are drawn from public reporting and company disclosures and are approximate.
Selling a used phone has always carried friction: you do not know what it is worth, you do not trust the buyer, and you worry about the data still sitting on it. Retailers and telecom operators face the mirror image - they want to offer trade-ins to move new hardware, but running the assessment, logistics and resale is a business they would rather not build.
NorthLadder sits in the middle of both problems. For consumers, it offers an automated valuation, free doorstep pickup, a certified data wipe and cash in hand. For enterprises, it offers the whole machine as a white-label service they can put their own brand on.
Diagnostic and grading tech automates the device condition check and estimates its residual value.
The device is listed to a network of global buyers, whose competing bids set the real price.
Free doorstep collection plus a certified data wipe, so nothing personal leaves with the device.
The seller is paid on the spot; the device moves on to its next owner and a second life.
Instant automated valuation for a used phone or gadget, with free doorstep pickup, certified data wipe and cash on the spot.
A white-label, end-to-end engine that telcos, retailers, e-commerce players and OEMs embed to run their own branded trade-in programs.
An auction that exposes each traded-in device to a global network of merchant buyers, driving competitive bids to maximize residual value.
Diagnostic and grading technology that converts a device's condition into a defensible residual-value number in seconds.
Services supporting the resale and redistribution of renewed mobile devices across markets.
Certified erasure and reverse-logistics handling that make trade-ins safe and dignified for sellers and partners alike.
Plenty of companies buy back used phones. What distinguishes NorthLadder is the auction: rather than paying a fixed table rate and pocketing the spread, it lets a global buyer network bid, which is designed to push more value back to the seller. Pair that with a white-label model - so a telecom carrier or retailer can run trade-ins under its own name without building the back end - and NorthLadder is as much infrastructure as it is a consumer brand.
Device trade-ins is a global business, and our goal is to provide a world-class platform that offers the best residual values.— Sandeep Shetty, Co-founder & CEO
Alternatives in the space include Cashify, Recommerce/Compass, Back Market, Assurant/Hyla and Phobio, alongside in-house trade-in programs run by telcos and retailers.
Backers include Crescent Enterprises and CE-Ventures (which led the 2022 convertible note), BECO Capital, stc Group's tali ventures (which led the 2024 Series B) and Dutch Founders Fund.
NorthLadder is a B2B2C platform. It sources devices from consumers and from partner-run trade-in programs, then sells them to global merchant buyers through its auction - earning on the spread and on the platform and technology services it provides to enterprise partners. In effect, one side looks like a consumer buy-back service; the other looks like SaaS infrastructure for trade-ins.
The pre-owned smartphone market is projected to reach roughly $100 billion by 2026, and re-commerce is drawing interest from telcos, retailers and sustainability-minded investors alike. NorthLadder positions itself as regional infrastructure with global reach: rooted in MENA, expanding into Europe from an Amsterdam base, and backed by a telecom group that sees trade-ins as strategic.
The company launches in Dubai as a buy-back service for pre-owned electronics.
A new name and a shift toward a platform serving both consumers and enterprise partners.
Raises $10M through a convertible note led by CE-Ventures to fund growth.
Expands its trade-in network and drop-off and pickup footprint across MENA.
Closes a Series B led by stc's tali ventures and opens a European base in Amsterdam while operating in 10+ countries.
It runs an auction-driven trade-in and buy-back platform for pre-owned electronics, paying consumers instant cash for used devices and offering telcos, retailers and OEMs a white-label trade-in engine.
It was founded in Dubai in 2017 (originally as BuyBack Bazaar) by Sandeep Shetty and Mihin Shah, among others, and rebranded to NorthLadder in 2021. Shetty, a former Careem managing director, is CEO.
Roughly $25M across four rounds, including a $10M convertible note in 2022 (CE-Ventures) and a $10M Series B in October 2024 led by stc Group's tali ventures with Dutch Founders Fund and CE-Ventures.
You get an automated valuation, NorthLadder offers free doorstep pickup and a certified data wipe, and you receive cash on the spot while the device is auctioned to a network of global buyers.
It is headquartered in Dubai, operates in more than 10 countries across MENA and beyond, and has established a European base in Amsterdam.