UAE B2B Marketplace Elkaso Raises $2.1 Million Pre-Seed Round
Despite launching as recently as early 2021, Elkaso has experienced rapid growth, serving more than 1400 restaurants and suppliers across the UAE and KSA.
UAE B2B marketplace, Elkaso, has secured $2.1 million Pre-Seed funding, in a round co-led by German-based Global Founders Capital and China’s MSA Capital with participation from other global and regional investors including Careem, Apple, Delivery Hero, Talabat, Faith Capital, Eyewa and Instashop.
Founded in 2021 by Manar Alkassar and Ahmed Soliman, Elkaso offers users a tech-enabled platform that connects restaurants with suppliers to quickly refill stock or make on-demand orders. Alkassar and Soliman bring years of industry experience from the tech ecosystem, with the former having served as Alkassar Head of New Ventures at Rocket Internet Middle East, and the latter having served as Soliman the Vice President of Delivery Hero.
Elkaso has capitalised on the region’s F&B space by offering a platform that seamlessly connects restaurants with their suppliers for easy order fulfillment. These newly-acquired funds will be used to expand its reach in the lucrative GCC market, according to Alkassar.
"While ordering food from restaurants has become the poster-child of our new digital lifestyles, ironically, restaurants still find themselves ordering their own supplies mostly manually or with old-fashioned, clunky systems,” Alkassar said. “We are building the Elkaso platform to close this gap in the MENA region and to improve transparency in the food supply chain. The app seamlessly connects restaurants and suppliers, enabling them to communicate, discover, place, and fulfill orders easily."
Since its launch just a few months ago, Elkaso has witnessed rapid growth, serving more than 1400 restaurants and suppliers across the UAE and KSA. This investment will serve as a platform launcher for the UAE, kicking off an aggressive expansion strategy for the UAE-based startup.
