Quiqup to wage food delivery war in the Middle East
DELIVEROO challenger Quiqup has raised £5m in extra funding to expand its presence in the Middle East.
The start-up, which was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in London, has secured partnerships to launch one-hour delivery services in the UK with supermarkets such as Tesco.
The new funding brings the total raised by Quiqup to more than £25m, including an investment from Jobi Capital last year.
Quiqup uses a network of about 2,000 gig economy riders to make deliveries. It opened its first overseas venture in Dubai earlier this year.
The business now plans to expand in countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
It will face competition from several start-ups in the food delivery wars. In the Middle East, local ride-hailing company Careem has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to start a food delivery business, Careemfood.
Earlier this year, Quiqup announced Dubai and Manchester as its first cities outside London, markets chosen for a “strong local retail environment”.