Digitizing MENA’s B2B businesses

• One of Forbes’ most-funded startups in the Middle East is expanding! 500-backed B2B online platform for retail supply chains, Retailo, acquired United Arab Emirates-based DXBUY. DXBUY is a B2B eCommerce app that simplifies the buying process by directly connecting small businesses with manufacturers and wholesalers through a digital platform.
• Retailo provides buy now, pay later (BNPL) services, which give its users payment options and credit lines and provides data analytics services to sellers to help them evaluate sales performance and consumption trends.
• What’s next for Retailo? It will be expanding further into the hotel, restaurant, and cafe sector.
• The company shared that it currently serves more than 50,000 retailers in 12 cities across 3 countries. It has an ambitious goal of serving 10 million corporate customers by the end of 2030.
• Get the full story on Forbes.

Growing an appetite for positive change

• “Mindfulness for me, and mindful scrolling, is about seeing how can we take some of that time and actually use it to create awareness around positive habits. How do we reinforce positive behaviors? How can we help people feel like they are part of a community? We want to entertain people, but help them do it in a way that helps enable them to make positive choices for the planet, animals, themselves, and their communities,” said Vikas Garg, Founder & CEO of 500-backed abillion.
• After witnessing the destructive effects of social media, Vikas was inspired to build a community around shared values. And thus, abillion was born, and the startup turns 5 years old in July.
• So far, it has been successful in its mission to create a meritocracy for great vegan food where anybody and any business in the world can participate and make a positive change in the environment.
• Today, the abillion app is used by over 1 million people across 165 countries. Users get to browse reviews of 300,000 products across 50,000 food, fashion, beauty, and wellness brands globally.
• Watch the full interview here.

Marrying convenience & sustainability

• In densely-populated cities like Jakarta and Bangkok, a grocery run to the supermarket involves getting stuck in traffic for at least half an hour. Throw in the actual grocery shopping and the trip home, and this process becomes an ordeal that could take hours!
• 500-backed HappyFresh wants to democratize grocery shopping by helping consumers reduce the time and effort spent on their weekly grocery trips.
• Sustainability is a big driver for the startup as it constantly looks at ways to reduce its ecological footprint. It pushes suppliers to reduce plastic packaging and shoppers to reject them, as well as work with local food banks to redistribute unsold food to underprivileged communities.
• Since the launch of HappyFresh Supermarket earlier this year, it has seen month-on-month user growth of 300% and is actively reaching more underserved consumers.
• “We are expecting to launch more than 100 dark stores as we expand in the region,” said CEO Guillem Segarra. “We want our customers to get all the groceries they need in the freshest condition and at an even faster speed, ensuring an effortless online grocery shopping experience.”
• Read the full article here.