How tech helped Middle East restaurants, cafes stay in business

How tech helped Middle East restaurants, cafes stay in business

Thu, 2021-01-14 22:34

DUBAI: A study of the impact COVID-19 has had on the food and beverage (F&B) sector revealed that in the weeks leading up to the complete shutdown of restaurants in March 2020, businesses experienced an overall 60 percent decrease in dine-in customers. Following the closures, revenues went down to zero for many restaurants in Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia, which remains the case in some places.

While some restaurants already had arrangements in place for a delivery option, others used to rely exclusively on dining experiences. Fine-dining operators such as Coya and Zuma had to quickly adopt a different model by partnering with direct-to-consumer delivery platforms such as Chatfood, which saw a surge in new clients from the region.

Even for fast-food chains and smaller, less affluent restaurants, delivery remains a business challenge that technology companies can help solve, particularly during times of economic turmoil.

No shisha pipe sessions, deserted streets, mosques and shopping malls, drones in the sky broadcasting public health warnings “” the coronavirus turned life upside down in Gulf societies. (AFP/File Photo)

Egyptian startup Halan runs a mobile ride-sharing platform that connects clients to on-demand motorcycles and tuk-tuks (rickshaws). The company, which is primarily focused on underserved neighborhoods, has