B2B Online Marketplace SAFQAT to Open in UAE

Online B2B marketplace SAFQAT is working to improve wholesale buying and will be launching its solution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a Saturday (June 4) press release.

Per the release, SAFQAT will replace one-on-one interactions with a “one-to-many” model, which reinforces a connection between supplier and buyers. Its goal is to help suppliers reach caterers, supermarkets and grocery stores in a more streamlined manner, making business easier.

The company will also let members try products before they finalize an order, which the release claims is “mimicking the advantage of a conventional purchase process.”

Khaled AlShanqiti, CEO and co-founder of SAFQAT, said the company had seen issues in the supply chain management faced by buyers and suppliers.

“In addition to competitive prices, buyers struggle with finding reliable and trusted suppliers, alternative options, and sourcing new products in the market,” he said. “As a result, we realised a genuine need for a platform to connect the F&B [food and beverage] businesses, and hence the idea for SAFQAT was born two years ago.”

He also said the food and beverage industry often sees volatility, with product costs often rising or becoming available at a sudden pace. SAFQAT wanted to be an antidote to that and offer “a quick, transparent, fully digitised buying and selling experience to ensure optimal supply-chain management in good and bad times.”

In other UAE-focused news, Pemo, a FinTech startup, recently debuted its all-in-one spend management platform.

See also: UAE-Based FinTech Pemo Debuts Spend Management Platform

PYMNTS wrote that the platform comes with invoice payment and expense management services, along with corporate cards for smaller businesses. Some features available for companies include digitized invoices, automated approval flows, one-click invoice payments and real-time cash flow monitoring.

Users will also be able to issue physical and virtual prepaid cards to their employees, which will be able to automatically categorize expenses, capture receipts and offer greater visibility.