UAE Wholesale Marketplace WeMENA Launches 'Team Buying' for SMEs to Pool Together for Better Deals

In a bid to help SMEs boost their purchasing power, UAE-based online wholesale marketplace WeMENA has just announced ‘Team’ buying - a new service that allows small businesses to get wholesale prices by coming together with other small businesses for joint purchases. By being able to benefit from wholesale prices, small businesses struggling to stay afloat during pandemic-lockdowns can increase their profit margins by taking advantage of economies of scale.

“WeMENA is working around the clock to try and help SMEs to not just survive, but thrive. And we also know that this is a perfect time for smaller enterprises, operating in the same sector, to come together, combine their purchasing power and take full advantage of the convenience of online sourcing, purchasing and supply. We are helping to level the playing field so companies based in the UAE (and potentially beyond) can now enjoy similar purchasing power to that of much larger multinationals,” explains Co-founder Pali Banwait. 

He adds that the group-buying model has seen success in East Asia and it’s likely that group-buying has been carried out informally for years among small businesses and retailers in the region.However, WeMENA’s new offering marks the first organised attempt to bring this concept to life in the Middle East.

WeMENA’s online marketplace currently boasts thousands of items across more than 30 categories, including food and restaurant supplies, electronics, clothing and homewares. With over 100 verified suppliers and free delivery across the UAE, the startup has been growing rapidly since its launch in September 2019.