Tariq Zabian, Co-founder, Shedd
Shedd, unlike the contemporary online marketplace for fashion items, also brought in the concept of reselling used clothes in a digitized manner which was quite a niche concept in UAE. The Co-founder, Mr. Tariq was of the opinion that it is essential to combine the rise in online shopping with the increasing use of social media and integrates it with the top-notch marketing experience to help showcase the talent of aspiring designers and entrepreneurs. After Dubizzle’s investment of $1m in Shedd, it has expanded enormously and now has over 5,00,000 downloads on Android and iOS
Hasib Khan, Founder, Udrive
Udrive started as one of the first car-sharing providers in the Middle East region in the year 2016. It primarily focused on real-time car rental services wherein users can locate and book rented cars through the app and leaves the vehicle only in allotted legal spots. Being one of the first entrepreneurs in the field of commutation, this has been successful in earning a great stature and has brought about a revolution in the field of public commutation and digitization. It has gained total funding of over $12.3 million in just a couple of years.
Claudio Esposit Aiardo, Co-Founder, Carasti
Carasti is a UAE-based car subscription service that provides for on-demand monthly car subscription app offering pocket-friendly and non-rigid automotive services. Due to its uniqueness, the idea has gained a lot of popularity within quantitatively less time and thus the market saw a great hike in its adoption during the latter half of 2019. Apart from the conventional subscription platform, it also allows customers to swap, upgrade or downgrade their vehicle without having to commit to it for a longer duration. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, it had managed to raise funding of over $3 million.
Tariq Sheikh, Co-Founder, Postpay
Founded in the year 2019, Postpay brought in the quintessential concept of ‘buy now- pay later’. In line with promoting the rise in social media usage and spurt in technology, this startup has been charismatic in grabbing the attention of shopping lovers even though they could be broke at the moment. It ensures that the risks of financial losses are curbed and offers the customers to pay in installments. The Founders speculated that it must aim at transforming the method of payment for people without burdening them with hidden costs and charges. Due to such innovative ideas, it has gained funding of $10 million in 3 years.
Jimmy James, Founder, Plantshop.ae
Everyone these days is familiar with online shopping experiences involving clothes, jewelry, food and other related things. However, Jimmy James has completely changed the perspective as he brought about an extensive range of indoor and outdoor plant, gardening accessories, seeds and fertilizers to be purchased online. He had an imminent goal of building a sustainable environment for us and the future generation and thus bringing such a unique online experience would not be worth neglecting. It has gained great acclamation from all strata of people, primarily budding gardeners and nature lovers. To date, it has raised over $250K in funding from all sources.
Criag McDonald, Founder, Yallaparking
Founded in 2016, Yallaparking is UAE’s first and the largest online platform for private parking spaces. The focus of the founder was to not only simplify the lives of the ones tied up with urbanization but also connect businesses and individuals who require more parking areas with requisite parking suppliers who have or are aware of unused spaces in the same building or area. It has served to be one of a kind in the parking and automotive industry and has raised total funding of over $1,52K in six years.
