The SME Story
A vegan, gluten-free dessert company and an innovative UAE-based proptech startup are on our radar this month
Interviews with entrepreneurs and insights from experts on how the regional SME ecosystem is evolving
Jad Antoun
CEO and co-founder, Huspy
What is Huspy’s core business model?
Huspy is a platform that delivers financing and refinancing of UAE properties. A technology company at its core with in-house real estate expertise, Huspy is addressing the end-to-end experience of the real estate market in the region, building solutions that dramatically speed up and enhance the customer experience, whilst freeing up market liquidity by making transactions faster and more attractive.
What convinced you that the market needs a concept such as Huspy?
I was fortunate enough to work in an early stage startup in the US prior to coming to Dubai and joining the investment team at BECO where we sought out tech companies to champion in the region – Careem and Kitopi, for example. This has given me a real appetite for building tech solutions for real world problems in a region I care passionately about. Thanks to my investment background, I am able to tap into an extensive network of investors both locally and abroad to help bring on this journey with us. While more expats are considering laying down roots here, globally mortgage rates are down and consumers are growing accustomed to more control, emboldened with greater access to information and frustrated by the slow pace of change in the real estate industry. Enter new enterprises like Huspy that help make it easier for people to purchase, sell, finance and refinance a property.
Could you give us a business overview of Huspy?
Starting with the UAE, Huspy will develop a core tech stack for the market and then seek to locally adapt and roll it out across a regional footprint within and beyond MENA. Within just nine months of operations, Huspy has generated +$250m in annualised gross merchandise value and completed over 300 transactions. Huspy is backed by VC investment, has closed its seed round and will continue to raise equity to develop and scale the business. We are currently a team of 30 with core talent in tech, growth, operations, marketing and banking.
What have been some of the biggest stumbling blocks since getting Huspy off the ground?
Attracting the right talent will always be a challenge for a startup. We have secured a top-class team with a mix of experience from tech companies including Microsoft and Uber, fintechs including Nubank and Revolut, and proptech giant Loft. This gives us a deep-rooted understanding of building and scaling the business. Since we are bringing new technologies to the ecosystem, there is naturally a period where trust needs to be earned and values need to be demonstrated. Successful disruption relies on us getting all our key partners in the industry on board. It’s also dependent on the end consumer feeling confident that we can deliver a superior experience and trusting us to guide them through one of the largest purchases of their lives.
How does Huspy compare to other existing proptech firms regionally and globally?
Huspy was founded with the aim of bringing a new solution to the real estate market that would end the pain of the home buying and selling process. Until recently, very little innovation has happened around this area both locally and internationally. Unlike other industries that have seen themselves disrupted and improved by technology, the real estate industry is relatively untouched. We are in an era of being always-on and of convenience and speed and Huspy has set out to develop technology that can deliver these benefits to the regional real estate industry.
What are some of the plans to scale Huspy?
Right now we are focused on getting our full suite tech stack optimised for the UAE and then rolling out across MENA and beyond, and growing the team to support expansion. In the next quarter, we plan to introduce two new core products that will complement our current solutions and open up our platform to a wider audience beyond financing.
Riwa Khan Founder, Majama What prompted you to start Majama?
Majama started from a simple belief that food can be both natural and delicious, without compromising on taste and texture. This belief is what drives us to create desserts that start off as alternatives to regular ones, but become equally, if not more, satisfying. I started Majama shortly after graduating from the University in London, where I struggled with constant digestive problems that were worsening with my regular consumption of gluten, refined sugar and dairy. I cut those ingredients out of my diet, but I still craved desserts, so I started making my own.
What is the current scale of your business?
Majama currently sells direct-to-consumer via our website and also through Deliveroo. We started with only five items on our menu from a shared kitchen in 2018, and we now have over 25 menu options across three product lines (ice creams, treats, and cakes) and 10 employees who work from our own production facility in JLT. This summer, we are taking our best-selling products – ice creams, banana bread, and cookies – to retail shelves across the UAE. We are selffunded and lucky to have been cash flow positive from the early days.
Your company was initially called Honeymelts. Why did you rebrand it to Majama?
We wanted to break free from the “small bakery” association people had with Honeymelts. In light of our expansion into retail, we wanted our new brand to be a creative expression of our future ambitions and goals. The bright, colourful and illustrative nature of Majama is one we feel our customers can engage and connect with on a deeper level. It’s a far more accurate representation of our brand personality and the values we’ve developed over the years.
What are some of the immediate concerns you have for Majama?
The natural/healthy food industry is a competitive one, even in the desserts category. There are a lot of global competitors who see the GCC, and specifically the UAE, as a lucrative market. In this context, it’s not easy to stand out. Our ingredient and product quality is what makes people loyal customers, but before that they need to try us out. They’ll only do that if Majama is something that resonates with them, so that’s where our efforts are focused on.
What lesson about entrepreneurship have you learnt the hard way?
Everything comes down to you and what you could have done differently, whether it was to prevent something or improve it. There are many moments when you’ve made a mistake and there’s no one else to look to but yourself. It has taught me accountability and responsibility, and how to really back myself, learn and get better. I have also learnt to never rush. Whilst we’re all eager for success, it’s never a good idea to make decisions in haste.
What are the expansion plans you have in place for the brand?
We aim to continue to innovate on the product front by adding more ice cream SKUs and launching new product lines. We then want to ensure these are widely accessible and available, first in the UAE and then across the GCC region. We eventually see ourselves competing in key natural food markets globally such as the UK, US, Germany, Netherlands, India and Australia. Ultimately, we want to be seen as the go-to brand for delicious desserts that just happen to be vegan and gluten-free.