Locallista closes a €2m funding round led by Midrag, the leading services marketplace in Israel

LISBON, PORTUGAL, December 2025 - Locallista today announced that it has closed a €2m funding round led by Midrag, the leading services marketplace in Israel.

Midrag is investing €1 million in the round as a strategic partner. The funds will support expansion into new markets in Europe and Asia, with Madrid, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Singapore planned by mid-2026 and Paris and Berlin as next steps, and tools that help expats find, hire and review trusted local businesses. Locallista aims to bring thousands of new businesses and tens of thousands of new users onto the platform.

Born from an expat’s own experience

Locallista was founded by Amir Kirshenboim, who moved to Lisbon with his wife and three daughters and found that everyday problems, from a broken washing machine to a car breakdown, were hard to solve when you don’t know whom to trust. Expat group chats were full of the same requests for help and the same warnings. He built Locallista to answer them, inspired by the success model Midrag proved in Israel.

More than capital

The partnership gives Locallista access to the experience of Midrag, which was founded in 2003 and lists more than 12,000 recommended businesses across close to 150 categories, with more than 3 million customer reviews. Beyond capital, Midrag’s leaders in sales, support, technology, product and performance marketing support the Locallista team directly.

Building for the next way people search

Part of the round funds a new platform with one goal: to become the most AI-friendly services marketplace in the world, so that when someone asks an AI assistant to find a plumber in Lisbon or how to fix a problem with their dishwasher, Locallista is the first answer.

What the round builds on

Locallista launched in Lisbon in September 2024 and in Barcelona in 2025. More than 13,000 users have registered, and more than 700 vetted businesses are listed across close to 200 categories, from plumbers and electricians to accountants and language teachers.

“Midrag has spent two decades proving in Israel that honest, high-quality professionals thrive when clients can trust them,” said Amir Kirshenboim. “This partnership lets us take that proven model and multiply its success across the world. With Midrag’s experience behind us, we can grow faster, avoid the mistakes others have already learned from, and bring the same trust to every city we open.”

“Many entrepreneurs have asked me to build platforms like Midrag abroad, but very few had what it takes,” said Nocham Ohana, founder and CEO of Midrag. “What Amir and his team have achieved in just one year amazes me. Seeing the vision we built in Israel take root in Lisbon and Barcelona, and now multiply into more markets, makes me truly happy.”