Hope Ventures, the investment arm of Hope Fund and producers of Beban TV show, co-invests USD 1m in Parcel alongside the private sector on the eighth episode of Beban Season 2, which can be streamed on the region’s first and biggest video-on-demand platform, Shahid, for free, or watched at 6 PM on Bahrain TV and 9:30 PM on Alrai TV.

On the eighth episode, Parcel, a logistics solution that provides on-demand delivery services by connecting businesses with freelance drivers, founded by Ali Dhaif, raised USD 1m from Hope Ventures, Saudi’s unicorn; Jahez, and Ex-founder of Carriage and current Founder and CEO of Cari, Mr. Abdulla Almutawa.

Through Parcel’s technology platform, businesses and aggregators can instantly request and assign drivers to deliver orders to customers in a seamless, convenient way while managing driver payments, measuring performance, and tracking deliveries. The investment raised will contribute toward achieving the startup’s regional expansion plans to KSA and Kuwait and further develop its user-centric solution that also enables merchants to take their business online and begin reaching customers anywhere.

Fajer Alpachachi, General Manager of Hope Ventures: “I am excited about this co-investment in Parcel alongside Jahez, and Cari, who will bring their wealth of expertise and knowledge in the LogiTech sector to strategically accelerate Parcel’s expansion into new markets. Parcel has showcased its traction in the local market, and I am excited to witness their growth having access to Abdulla’s expertise and know-how of the sector, having founded Carriage and with Jahez’s on-the-ground know-how and immediate market-entry to access and expedite Parcel’s expansion into regional markets.”

She further added: “This investment is a true representation of Beban’s purpose as a regional investment platform that facilitates a borderless and seamless flow of regional co-investment opportunities alongside the private sector in promising businesses. The platform allows businesses to overcome expansion challenges and hurdles by attracting strategic regional investors who can add immense value add to enhance their knowledge and accelerate their expansion through their on-the-ground know-how and networks in new markets.”

Mr. Abdulaziz Alhouti, Chief Investment Officer at Jahez, commented: “Our keenness to participate and co-invest through Beban TV show was a direct result of Hope’s meticulous opportunity selection process, followed by our thorough and comprehensive due diligence. As a Saudi unicorn with the trust of over two million customers and 50,000 delivery partners, we at Jahez are excited to be supporting the Kingdom of Bahrain in growing; hopefully, its very own unicorn represented in Parcel.‫”

On his part, Mr. Abdulla Almutawa, Founder and CEO of Cari, also commented: “As the founder of the world’s fastest-delivery restaurant and only zero percent commission platform, Cari, I look forward to the cross-border sharing of experience in the delivery and LogiTech sector, as well as industry knowledge to expedite Parcel’s growth alongside my colleagues at Hope and the private sector. As a platform, Parcel has demonstrated sustainable traction since its inception in 2019 and has successfully proven its agility which is exciting for us as co-investors.”

Ali Dhaif, Founder and CEO of Parcel, said: “We built our platform around the concept of digitizing delivery processes to streamline and ease them for homegrown and small-sized businesses. Today, after our fundraising, “excited” is an understatement to describe what we feel at Parcel. This investment we raised through participating in Beban TV show has opened monumental doors of opportunity and will help us expand regionally at a much faster rate. We are eager to be learning, growing, and changing the delivery landscape in the MENA region with the support of Hope, Jahez, and Cari.”

A new episode of Beban will air every Wednesday of this month. You can watch the next episode airing on the 1^st of March 2023, on Bahrain TV at 6 PM and on AlRai TV at 9:30 PM or anytime on the region’s first and biggest video-on-demand platform, Shahid.

To stay up to date with all-things-Beban, make sure you follow the show’s accounts on social media @bebanme.