Akeed: Going Local Thinking Global Business
A lot has changed for Ahmed Al Balushi, a 23-year-old Omani student in the last six months. From just being a college student shuttling between assignments and classes, his hectic schedule now also involves around a part-time job with akeed delivery: Oman’s first food delivery app.
Speak to him and you will get an insight into his journey, “Times are changing. The country is rapidly advancing to a more global and open market. I am happy to play a part in shaping my country’s future by contributing and helping young Omani start-ups of today carve their presence in the market.”
His day at akeed begins right after he finishes college. Logging into the akeed captains app, he starts off his journey in his white Toyota with the red akeed bag as his companion.
"It’s a fun way to acquire experience while studying. I love to drive and meet new people. This job allows me to do that, and moreover, the joy of working in a company that is made in Oman is different,” says Al Balushi.
Established in 2018, akeed delivery boasts of 84 such Omani youngsters working as captains in the company. An initiative started with the effective partnership of Europcar Oman, the company has hired 108 Omani captains out of 3000+ applications received over a month.
The idea is to hire Omani talent as much as possible to reach a point wherein the delivery sector is 100% Omanised.
“We worked very closely with Europcar Oman in the last one year. Our main objective was to filter out the right talent that is actively looking for gaining on-job experience while we give our customers top-notch service” said Moosa Al Lawati, co-founder and director akeed delivery.
Needless to say, the service and experience of customers with Omani captains has been ranked the best. “The feedback from customers has been always positive whenever an omani captain has embarked on any deliveries. The right training and selection have allowed us to provide this experience to our customers,” said Moosa Al Lawati.
Kickstarted with barely a 5 member team in 2018, akeed delivery now has over 300 employees, out of which operations and logistics hold a major chunk. "The company has expanded significantly, and it is a matter of pride for me when I see young omani's like Ahmed playing a crucial part of this success story," said Moosa Al Lawati.
He adds, "We want to hire several talented and hard-working people like Ahmed. Every young omani should be a proud brand ambassador of akeed delivery. That will be our ideal definition of made in Oman."
Also marked as an essential service by the government during the peak of COVID-19, akeed delivery initiated several free delivery campaigns, to support and help the restaurants while bringing convenience to the customers.
Collaboration with Rahma association to distribute free meals for those in need along with the contactless delivery feature were some of the projects initiated by akeed delivery in the last six months.
“Our focus has always been to understand what the local market wants. Our customers and vendors are our brand ambassadors and we want them to help us make such crucial decisions,” said Moosa Al Lawati.
Geared up to soon launch akeed 2.0, the superior, revamped version of the app, Moosa added, “We are very excited to unveil our new app, which will match the global standards and features offered by international brands. It will be our first step to make Oman’s first delivery app beat the global international brands at home and abroad.”