News

Kuwait’s Raha Is An E-Grocery And Logistics Tech Startup

The company has already raised $7 million and plans to secure further funding to fuel GCC growth.

Published

3 years ago

January 2, 2024

Nour Nasir

Raha

Launched in 2022, Raha, a Kuwaiti e-grocery and logistics startup founded by Saleh Al Tunaib, plans to disrupt the local food delivery sector using a mixture of advanced robotics and automation.

Raha offers a full range of fresh produce, groceries, and other household essentials. The company’s smart ordering platform leverages user data to provide a personalized experience, while a robot fulfillment team manages a mixture of products and made-to-order recipes inside Kuwait’s first fully automated distribution center.

Despite upfront costs, the robot-operated systems have better profitability margins from the third year onwards compared to conventional labor-intensive sorting and picking systems, Al Tunaib says: “it saves on manpower, it saves you the amount of real estate you require […] and it’s also very energy efficient”.

Saleh Al Tunaib began his career in Kuwait in 2010 and co-founded the crowdfunding platform Jaribha in 2011. By 2013, Al Tunaib was working at the OnCost Cash and Carry chain of grocery stores and had risen to the position of chief executive by 2016.

Also Read: Mobile Trends Shaping MENA In 2024

Due to changing habits in the wake of the pandemic, the MENA online grocery market is currently booming and was valued at $4.5 billion last year. The sector is forecast to grow massively by 2030, reaching a peak of $25 billion, according to consultancy firm RedSeer.

Since the launch, Raha has raised nearly $14 in seed funding and grown to become a multi-sector technology provider. The startup now has its sights firmly set on further GCC expansion.

News

NEOPAY Wants To Follow Merchants Across Channels And Borders

A controlling 65% stake in noon payments would give NEOPAY access to marketplace sellers, online merchants and the payment flows they generate.

Published

1 day ago

October 5, 2026

Nour Nasir

neopay wants to follow merchants across channels and borders

It’s been a long time since checkouts were single defined places. A merchant might take payments at a physical register, on its own website and through an online marketplace, sometimes in more than one country. NEOPAY wants to follow those transactions wherever they happen.

The UAE payments company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments. NEOPAY already runs the acquiring infrastructure that lets merchants accept card payments, along with omnichannel acceptance and a merchant services platform. This new deal would add noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That would considerably expand both NEOPAY’s digital commerce capabilities and its regional reach.

For merchants, the attraction is a single provider for online and in-store payments, plus faster settlements, data and analytics, and value-added financial services.

“Payments should be simple, reliable, and built for the markets they serve,” said Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon. His counterpart at NEOPAY, Vibhor Mundhada, added: “We have built a strong payments business in the UAE, and our ambition is now to take that capability across the region”. The acquisition, Mundhada added, would “expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt” while reinforcing NEOPAY’s position at home.

Also Read: In Kuwait, Your Surgeon Might Be Operating From Another Country

NEOPAY is also keen to point out potential payment volume increases. The company says noon payments’ integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants create high transaction density in some of the region’s fastest-growing digital commerce segments. It also believes control of the business would give it access to those merchant relationships and payment flows, and speed up the rollout of alternative payment methods and installment options.

The combined roadmap targets faster merchant onboarding, better payment performance, tighter fraud controls and embedded financial services. The deal could also strengthen cross-border payments and settlement along key regional commerce corridors.