Viaka #13 - A growing B2B and B2C online bulk grocery platform
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Hi everyone, this is Hani. This week, we’re shining the spotlight on Jumlaty, a B2C online bulk grocery platform. I spoke with Salman Attieh, the co-founder and CEO of Jumlaty.
Jumlaty Quick Stats
Founded: 2020
HQ: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Key Individuals: Salman Attieh, co-founder and CEO; Karim Chaaban, co-founder and CBDO; Yaseen Almanna, co-founder and CTO
Raison d’être: Jumlaty provide wholesale, efficient logistics to the B2C space and eventually the B2B space.
Ask: Jumlaty are looking for investors interested in their technology space.
I got the chance to chat with Salman about Jumlaty’s story, and their goals for the future. Here are some of the insights from our chat.
What is Jumlaty and how/why did it come to life?
Jumlaty is a digital eWholesaler with foundations in robotics and machine learning serving the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering industry with an initial focus on SME restaurants (TAM at 50B USD).
Send us your 1 month inventory list and we will secure it, store in our warehouse, restock it and deliver only what the chef needs in under 24 hours, all in one delivery, as often as is needed, saving management time, money and space.
To support the community during the lockdown, when I was part of a venture studio we built a simple Typeform website to allow the community to place their grocery orders and sent these orders to freelance drivers to purchase and deliver. We pivoted into bulk grocery B2C and eventually to bulk grocery for B2B.
What is your personal story and relation to the problem (alongside your founders)
Salman (CEO) has a 10-year career specializing in digital supply chain transformation, having transformed mega factories in the region from labor and manually intensive processes to automated and lean processes leveraging robotics and A.I. Salman has also been a partner in 2 unsuccessful restaurants (a total of 6 years experience) with procurement being a key challenge.
Karim Chaaban (CBDO), has 3 years of experience as an investment analyst and in an investor relations role. He was obsessed with Costco when he lived in Canada, much to his surprise during the lockdown, he found his family and friends stockings up in bulk through supermarkets. This was the light bulb moment and he came to the realization that traditional wholesalers in the region were far and in a state that is unfit for millennials. His time managing investors built his skill set to negotiate with suppliers.
Yaseen Almannaa (CTO) has 7 years of experience building machine learning models and we partnered with him to allow us to build models that help with product and pricing recommendations based on market feedback; increase accuracy of replenishment and predict customer churn. All of which are key challenges incumbents are facing as well as rising labor costs.
What market are you attacking? Are you adding on or trying to replace current offerings?
Replacing wholesalers.
For suppliers/manufacturers, we allow them to access a larger market (made up of many small establishments) without the need to build and manage the logistics associated with serving that market.
Amazon for HORECA industry.
What are you looking for from the Viaka community?
Introduction to investors interested in this space.
Where will that take you?
This will allow us to expand the team and operational/fulfillment capacity so that we can offer our services nationwide.
Promising Opportunities from Our MENA Partners
Below are a list of opportunities curated from the Viaka’s MENA partners.
For Founders
Plus.vc invests in early-stage founders (up to Series A) that have a MENA background or connection, but are founding their companies outside of MENA.
For Investors
Desert Farms is also looking for a senior advisor with D2C startup experience, preferably in the food & beverage space, and with knowledge of the FDA approval process. This opportunity can be compensated.
Agel is closing a seed round of $1m to provide Islamic financing options to Egyptian MSMEs in industries previously overlooked by traditional financial institutions.
For Advisors
Band Industries, an AI-powered music tuner and education app, is looking for someone with experience building a SaaS business, preferably a previous founder with digital marketing and go-to-market expertise and a strategist. This opportunity can be compensated.
If you would like to get involved with any of the opportunities above, please fill out the form below and indicate what opportunity you are interested in in the “Reason for Joining” section.
Exciting Announcements From Our Network
Below are a list of updates, wins, and asks emanating from members of the Viaka Network in the “West.”
The North Star Dubai startup festival is occurring 10-13 October 2022 this year, with early-bird pricing sign-ups available until 31 August. North Star was formerly known as GITEX Future Stars and focuses on bringing the startup ecosystem to MENA. Over 600 investors and 700 startups will be present, with startups able to exhibit during the conference. The events offer networking, investing, and advising opportunities across the startup ecosystem. Learn more here!
Startup Boston has launched the registration of its five-day Startup Boston Week. The program will be held from September 19-23rd, 2022, and will have over 80 events and 250 speakers. The week is geared towards anyone with an interest in startups, with resources to connect, scale, and celebrate the community. Sessions featured include topics geared towards first-time founders, startup employees, advisors, and more. Sign up here!
If you’re a member of our Network and would like to share your own update next week, email info.viaka@gmail.com or submit an update via this form.
That’s it for this week. Thank you!
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