E-commerce is expected to continue to grow in the UAE, even as more people are getting vaccinated and life returns to semi-normal, according to the CEO of a Dubai-based digital enabler for small businesses.
SMEs can no longer afford to only have a brick and mortar presence if they are to remain competitive, said Ramy Assaf, co-founder and CEO of Zbooni.
“The way we see it, going digital as a business is almost irreversible. Once someone is running their business online in a more efficient and organised manner, they will not move backwards,” said Assaf.
“You need to be multi-dimensional as a small business and so they will likely go omnichannel, selling both online and offline,” he added.
Launched in 2017, Zbooni, which means “my customer” in Arabic, enables small businesses to start, run and grow their own business by providing them with a comprehensive set of digital solutions including virtual store, software, invoicing and WhatsApp checkout solutions.
Ramy Assaf, co-founder and CEO of Zbooni
Assaf said he believes the UAE will be home to more e-startups in 2021 as more people see value in entrepreneurship.
“Last year proved that the UAE has a certain tenacity or resilience to it and this entrepreneurial spirit is coming alive. Following the e-commerce success stories, it has becoming more interesting and rewarding to set up that kind of business,” said Assaf.
Assaf identified two sectors which are likely to experience growth in the UAE this year.
“I think F&B will continue to grow. It’s getting easier to test food concepts here and if your quality is superior, it will resonate well in the market. People don’t seem to get tired of food,” said Assaf.
“There is a lot of merit in starting service-based businesses which are becoming more and more sought after. People are willing to spend a lot of time, energy and money on self-improvement, for example, so if you can help someone do that, it’s a valuable thing you can offer,” he continued.
As more SMEs shifted online during the initial coronavirus related lockdown in March and needed technology solution providers to do so, Zbooni saw its business boom, recording a 600 percent growth in business volume in 2020.
“Although we saw an initial dip in volume, this was quickly eclipsed with new merchants joining our platform as a lot of virtual things, such as fitness classes or tutoring for children, started taking place right away,” he added.
Zbooni currently operates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan with no plans to expand into other countries.
“We are just scratching the surface in these markets so we don’t plan on going in different territories, per se, but we plan on going much deeper into the solution itself,” explained Assaf.
“We have merchants who have been using us for two years now and they are maturing along with their sales. As they do that, we want to mature with them and serve their needs as a growing business,” he said.
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