As 2020 kicks off with MENA's highest-profile exit completed, we take a look at startups with the potential to become the region’s next big venture, writes Ahmed Gabr.
Following initial news of the $3.1 billion deal in March 2019, Uber completed its acquisition of Careem at the beginning of January 2020. MENA startups have been getting much-needed funds to scale up their business, and 2019 seems to have set the bar high: during the first half of last year, startups in the region received $471 million in investments, up 66% from the $283 million invested over the same period of 2018.
Given the steadily growing number of MENA startups, it remains extremely difficult to spot the next local unicorn. Still, here is a list of new ventures with definite growth potential in 2020.
This pay-as-you-go car-sharing service from Dubai envisions a fleet of more than 10,000 cars and over a million registered users by 2021. Founded in 2016 by Ravi Bhusari and Vilhelm Hedberg, eKar secured $17 million in funding in November 2019 to help with its regional expansion, starting with the Saudi market. The company will launch its service in Riyadh, capitalising on more than 70,000 first-time female drivers, for whom rentals might be a reasonable alternative to car ownership.
Founded by Gaurav Biswas in 2016, Abu Dhabi-based Trukker starts 2020 with an expansion into the Egyptian market and a $23 million Series A funding round intended to support the company as it branches into Jordan and the rest of MENA. In November 2019, Trukker hired Sherif Mohsen, former CEO of Egyptian inland logistics startup Naqla, as its regional director for Levant and North Africa to capitalise on the country’s central location and position itself to conquer an industry valued at $66 billion.
The Egyptian B2B supply-chain consolidation marketplace founded by Belal El-Megharbel in 2018 enables grocery stores to order shipments directly from manufacturers via a mobile app, eliminating all intermediaries in the supply chain. Valued at a massive $45 billion, Egyptian food retail is a highly lucrative market for MaxAB to disrupt. The company claimed MENA’s largest seed funding round in history by raising a total of $6.2 million in September 2019.
Being a small market, Oman is an unlikely place of origin for booming startups. However, certified pre-owned car e-retailer Carzaty has the potential to change that. Founded in 2017 by Hassan Jaffar and Marwan Chaar, the company offers heavily discounted vehicles by operating exclusively through a virtual showroom, selling reconditioned cars covered by a one-year warranty and delivering them to customers. After securing $4 million in funding, Carzaty launched operations in the UAE in December 2019, entering a country whose used cars market was valued at more than AED 11 billion (about $3 billion).
Since its launch in Dubai in 2016 by Charif Mzayek, FloraNow has disrupted the cut flower retail market in the UAE. It has done so by enabling local retailers to shop directly for floral products from suppliers and farmers across the globe, including Columbia, Thailand and the Netherlands. Fuelled by a funding round of $3 million in December 2019, FloraNow starts 2020 by expanding into the GCC imported flowers market, whose value is estimated at $124 million.
Launched in Kuwait in 2018 by Ali Al-Ebrahim, this app displays a list of nearby retailers and coffee shops. Customers can place orders for coffee and have their beverages delivered or order coffee supplies. In February 2019, COFE secured $3.2 million in funding to support a global expansion plan starting with London in April 2020.
Founded in 2013 by Ammar Waganah, Jeddah-based online store Dokkan Afkar offers a variety of creative and conceptual products. In December 2019, the company secured $5 million in a second round of funding. The first one, which took place in 2017, helped Dokkan Afkar expand across the GCC market. The next phase for the company entails a focus on promoting homegrown Saudi brands and selling globally.
With $1 million in seed funding, Invygo is a long-term car rental startup that operates a subscription model allowing customers to swap their rented vehicle after each rental term. Founded in 2018 by Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo, the company will use its seed capital to expand into Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the rest of GCC.
Saudi-based NoonAcademy is an educational online social platform launched in 2013 by Mohammed Aldhalaan and Dr Abdulaziz AlSaeed. In June 2019, the company raised $8.6 million in Series A funding, which it is using to transform into an open platform for teachers to start their own premium virtual private educational groups.
Following a $4.3 million funding round in December 2018, Egyptian ridesharing startup Halan is currently conducting a second one as it prepares to launch operations in more African markets. Founded in 2017 by Mounir Nakhla and Ahmed Mohsen, the Cairo-based company offers rickshaw and motorcycle ridesharing in Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.