UAE's E-commerce Startup YallaHub Secures $6 Million In Pre-Series A Round
UAE-based marketplace aggregator YallaHub has secured a $6 million pre-Series A round. The new round was co-led by numerous MENA-focused private investors such Fedor Ovchinnikov, founder of Dodo Brands; Regolith, an ecosystem for financial and investment instruments, and others.
The fresh funds will be geared towards improving the IT platform for order aggregation and growing the company's network of partner markets. The startup also has plans toward accelerating its expansion into Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the near future.
Chief Executive of Regolith, Den Kerzheman said, “We’re confident in YallaHub's innovative approach to B2B e-commerce in the region. With these newfound resources, YallaHub is poised to accelerate its growth trajectory and unlock new possibilities for businesses operating in the GCC and beyond. Additionally, we identified the management team’s extraordinary vision to transform a high-touch business by seamlessly infusing proprietary tech while increasing product depth for any size customer. We are thrilled to be part of the YallaHub success story.”
What is YallaHub?
YallaHub is the first B2B2C e-commerce aggregator in the Middle East and North Africa region, uniting all market participants on a single, scalable tech platform. The marketplace aggregator offers its clients a solitary point of entry to the GCC market and is set up to manage omnichannel sales concurrently across 8+ aggregators and marketplaces (Noon, Careem, Amazon, Deliveroo, NowNow), e-commerce platforms, and the merchant's own sales channels powered by YallaWeb and Shopify. Businesses must pay a monthly subscription fee, an onboarding fee, and a commission for handling brand sales and promotions on the platform. Over 80 small, medium, and business brands, including the international health food brand Vkusvill, have already been brought to the UAE market through YallaHub. YallaHub intends to launch in Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain in 2024, three further GCC nations. Late in 2022, the management team strategically changed from B2C to B2B. The startup was founded in 2021 by Leo Dovbenko and Stas Seleznev.
Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of YallaHub, Leo Dovbenko said, "Initially focused on our B2C business, YallaMarket, we received requests from 500 companies to help them enter the GCC region. Recognizing the untapped potential, we created the B2B2C e-commerce single-window solution, YallaHub.”
Q-commerce in the UAE
The Middle East was slow to embrace e-commerce. But there has been a noticeable change in recent years. One of the Middle East's fastest-expanding business sectors today is the Q-Commerce sector. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's Q-Commerce industry is anticipated to increase from US$9 billion in 2020 to US$20 billion by 2024 as a result of shifting consumer behavior dominated by the last-minute purchasing trend, according to Statista.com.