Saudi Unicorns: Rewaa Is On A Mission To Become A Trusted Tech Partner For Retailers In Saudi Arabia And Beyond "We are committed to developing cutting-edge technologies, delivering exceptional customer support, and fostering a collaborative and dynamic work environment that empowers our team to drive success for our clients."
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This article is part of a series covering enterprises that have been a part of the Saudi Unicorns Program, a national program by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), National Technology Development Program (NTDP), and the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk), to enable and nurture successful and established tech companies to reach unicorn status in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It is no secret that one of the greatest advantages of a rapidly digitized business ecosystem has been the automation of otherwise mundane and repetitive tasks. It was in a similar bid to ease the many complexities and inefficiencies that come with managing retail store operations that Rewaa was launched in 2018 by Mohammed Alqasir (CEO) and Abdullah Aljadhai (COO). "The inspiration behind starting this journey was to become the trusted tech partner for retailers, helping them grow and manage their businesses through a unified process, and automating their store operations to reduce human and manual input errors," says Alqasir. "By providing a unified and automated system for accounting, inventory management, cashier operations, and payments, Rewaa aims to reduce human errors, streamline processes, and enhance operational efficiency for retailers."
Designed as a software-as-a-service (SaaS), the platform offers a suite of software solutions designed to streamline retail operations encompassing inventory management, a point-of-sale system, cloud-based accounting software, e-commerce platforms integrations, as well as an offers and promotions management tool. All of these have thus been integrated into one system that allows retailers to manage their businesses efficiently as well as with a reduced margin of manual errors.
"Our mission at Rewaa is to provide innovative technical solutions that automate retail operations, enhancing retailers' efficiency and profitability," explains Aljadhai. "Our ethos therefore revolves around innovation, customer- centricity, and excellence. We are committed to developing cutting-edge technologies, delivering exceptional customer support, and fostering a collaborative and dynamic work environment that empowers our team to drive success for our clients."
These underlying values have, in fact, been incorporated into the very name chosen for the company. "The meaning of the name 'Rewaa' is the rope used to tie baggage onto the back of the camel, which Rewaa resembles in tying the merchant with the tools they need to keep their business management in one place to access wherever, whenever," Alqasir explains. And it is thanks to all of Rewaa's various offerings that Aljadhai believes his company is all set to see further growth and development in the future. "Our unique selling point at Rewaa is our all-in-one retail management platform that integrates accounting, inventory management, cashier operations, and payment processing into a single, easy-to-use system," he says. "Our exceptional customer support also ensures seamless onboarding and ongoing assistance, setting us apart from the competition. Providing a seamless, all-in-one solution addresses critical pain points for retailers, driving high customer satisfaction and loyalty, which will increase efficiency and profitability, making our platform indispensable. As we continue to innovate and expand our market reach, these strengths will help us attract more clients and investors, paving the way to becoming a unicorn."
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Of course, this goal has now found the perfect launchpad in Rewaa's participation in Saudi Unicorns. "One of the biggest benefits the program offered us is the chance to network with like-minded individuals and entities," Aljadhai reveals. "It also provided us with the opportunity to learn from the best and biggest players in the field. This helped us tremendously in getting to know the merchant better and catering to their needs in a more comprehensive way. Additionally, some of the many examples of how we improved our business models [at Saudi Unicorns] include learning how to measure the performance of our team, defining attainable objectives and key results, and improving our hiring processes to fit global standards."
Besides already achieving its target revenue growth, while also successfully raising multiple funding rounds backed by regional venture capital firms, Rewaa currently boasts of a 400-person-strong team in the Kingdom. According to Alqasir, launching the business in the Kingdom six years ago was due to one simple reason: the nation's economic potential, as well as the push from its government. "We chose Saudi Arabia as our starting market due to its rapidly growing retail sector, and the government's strong support for digital transformation and entrepreneurship," Alqasir adds. "The dynamic business environment and ample opportunities for innovation made it the ideal launchpad for Rewaa. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 also significantly boosted our growth by fostering a business-friendly environment and prioritizing digital transformation. The Vision's emphasis on economic diversification and technological innovation aligned perfectly with our goals, enabling us to expand rapidly, and serve a growing number of retailers nationwide."
But Aljadhai and his team's vision for Rewaa is by no means bound by geography- if anything, the company is already eyeing international scaling. "Our product can serve the global market by offering a scalable, cloud-based platform that supports multiple languages and currencies," Aljadhai says. "We provide comprehensive retail management solutions, including accounting, inventory management, and payment processing, tailored to meet the diverse needs of international retailers. With robust customer support and seamless integration capabilities, we ensure a smooth onboarding process and continuous assistance, making our platform adaptable and valuable in any region."
It is thus with this drive that Rewaa hopes to make a lasting impact on the local and global retail sector. "We plan to be the go-to product or solution for our customers no matter where they operate their business!" Aljadhai declares. "And we aim to do this by providing easy access to the tools that help them overcome their management obstacles and challenges."
