Saudi Unicorns: KSA-Based Traveltech Startup Almatar Is On A Mission To Simplify Travel Planning In the five years since its launch, the Almatar team has already grown to over 500 employees, with its operations extending beyond the Kingdom to Egypt and India as well.
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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.
When Aimen Saleh Basalamah launched Almatar as a traveltech platform in 2019, his end-goal was simple—it was to eliminate the many flight booking hassles travelers in Saudi Arabia face, and to follow it up with a seamless and user-friendly way to plan a trip. And looking at the Almatar website today, it seems like Basalama has been able to achieve just that- with the homepage clearly demarcated into a "travel mate" section that helps users to first book hotels and flights at the best prices and deals, another section that highlights top destinations and hotels to explore, and a third section that helps users decide on payment options as well as how to plan a trip.
"We noticed a gap in the market for a platform that could handle all travel needs, from booking flights and hotels to planning entire trips," says Basalama, who is also the CEO of Almatar. "We thus wanted to address the inconvenience travelers faced by providing a solution that makes travel planning and booking easier for Saudis. We recognized the need for a comprehensive platform that could streamline the process of booking flights, hotels, car rentals, and holiday packages. At Almatar, our mission is therefore to simplify travel planning, make traveling and booking easy, and make it accessible and enjoyable for everyone in Saudi Arabia as well as the wider GCC. We prioritize customer satisfaction, innovation, and integrity in everything we do."
In the five years since its launch, the Almatar team has already grown to over 500 employees, with its operations extending beyond the Kingdom to Egypt and India as well. And its results so far have paved the way for further geographical expansions, reveals Basalama. "Currently, Almatar serves thousands of users monthly, with a robust infrastructure capable of scaling further," Basalama notes. "Our long-term potential lies in our ability to continuously innovate and expand our service offerings, positioning ourselves as a leading travel platform in the region. But having seen substantial revenue growth year-over-year, we have ambitious plans to take Almatar global. Our initial focus will be on expanding within the GCC region, followed by Southeast Asia and Europe. Our state-of-the-art platform is well designed to be scalable and adaptable, allowing us to cater diverse and changing needs of travelers worldwide. With deep industry insights, we thus look forward to providing our diverse customers with personalized travel experiences, and establish Almatar as a trusted name in the international travel world."
As a testament to the startup's commitment to address varying travel requirements, the Almatar platform's booking options are already open to all types of travelers, ranging from corporate professionals who want seamless business trips, to leisure tourists looking for convenient and affordable travel solutions. "Our unique selling point is the user-friendly nature of our platform, coupled with personalized recommendations driven by artificial intelligence," Basalama adds. "We are future-focused, and we offer a seamless experience that covers all aspects of travel planning in one place, and on one app. We focus on our customer satisfaction, and we believe we can achieve significant market penetration and loyalty. Our commitment to innovation, keeping customers first, and our convenience sets us apart, making us potentially reach unicorn status."
Such is the mindset with which Basalama and his team at Almatar have begun their journey at Saudi Unicorns as well—an experience that he says has already helped in finetuning his venture's operations. "The Saudi Unicorns program has provided us with valuable mentorship, resources, and networking opportunities that have significantly contributed to our growth," he says. "The biggest benefits include access to industry experts, strategic guidance on scaling operations, and the opportunity to connect with potential investors and partners. These elements have been pivotal in refining our business model, and expanding our reach. One example has been the implementation of a technological infrastructure, which was a direct result of the strategic advice we received from the experts and mentors. This change has significantly improved our service delivery and operational efficiency. Additionally, the program's mentorship helped us refine our customer acquisition strategies, helped us focus on our service, and this has led us to substantial increase in our user base."
Here, Basalama notes that the support received through Saudi Unicorns has also allowed him and his team to better navigate the complexities of growing a business as well. "For us, the most challenging phase was the initial stages of scaling our operations—managing rapid growth while maintaining service quality, meeting potential partners, and user satisfaction, was a significant hurdle," he says. "However, the mentorship and resources provided by Saudi Unicorns were instrumental in helping us overcome all these challenges. Their support has enabled us to become more efficient with our processes and technologies which has facilitated smoother scaling."
And now, as Almatar continues to strengthen its position in the Kingdom's travel market, it is regional and international expansion that is the next point of focus for the company. "Our next steps involve expanding our offerings and entering new markets within the GCC region," Basalama declares. "We also aim to focus on improving our mobile platform and integrating more personalized travel experiences for the Saudi audience and for GCC residents to cater to the diverse needs of our users. As a result, post-Saudi Unicorns, we hope to establish strategic partnerships, explore new market opportunities, and continue innovating our platform to provide an even better user experience. Our plan is to take our services global by leveraging our advanced technology and deep understanding of diverse travel needs. Whether it's streamlining travel bookings or offering personalized travel experiences, we're committed to making Almatar a go-to platform for travelers worldwide."
