Dubai store management platform Dukkantek has announced completion of a €10m pre-series A funding round.

Dukkantek was founded in January 2021 by Ali Al Sayegh, Sanad Yaghi and Shadi Joulani. Originally conceived as a service aimed at retailers in the grocery sector, the merchants on the platform now span 70 different verticals, with clothing and electricals particularly prominent alongside food and drink.

The venture offers a suite of services empowering traditional merchants with end-to-end digital technology that improves all business processes.

Its main target markets are the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The funding round was led by BECO with participation from Rocketship and Colle Capital. Other investors in the round included Comma Capital, AMK Investment Office, Chaos Ventures, and Wamda Capital.

In Association with

The funding round follows Dukkantek’s €5m seed round in October 2021.

Dukkantek co-founder Sanad Yaghi commented: “For too long the owners of small and medium-sized businesses have been left on the margins of the technology shift. We bring a technology platform consisting of three different value propositions that enable these merchants to compete in a digital world.

“This includes a set of tools that enables merchants to run their businesses more effectively. Payments options ensure merchants can offer customers more choice about how to settle their bills, and an e-commerce offering which merchants everything they need to start selling online for the first time and to manage that operation in tandem with the brick-and-mortar business.

“Many merchants struggle to keep track of inventory when selling both online and in physical stores, so having one system that incorporates both parts of the business is very important.”

Abdulaziz Shikh Al Sagha from BECO Capital stated: "It's very rare to come across a business and team that have been able to execute the way in which Dukkantek has done so far.

“Launching in seven countries in 18 months since founding is no easy feat, yet the Dukkantek team has managed to do it in such a capital efficient manner. We are very excited to partner with Sanad, Ali and the wider team as they look to build on their exciting traction and overall vision of digitizing merchants."

Yaghi added: “We have seen an increase in users accessing analytics tools on the platform which, for example, help them understand which products will sell best. Three-quarters of the businesses on the platform are now trading in this way.”

Photo: Dukkantek founders Ali Al Sayegh, Sanad Yaghi and Shadi Joulani