The E-commerce sector in Lebanon is witnessing exponential growth since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Statista, revenue in the E-commerce market is projected to reach $869 million in 2021. The revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2021-2025) of 6.99%, resulting in a projected market volume of $1,139 million by 2025. Despite the Lebanon crisis, these numbers warrant a huge success for Lebanon’s future in online retailing – thanks to the startups.
About Presentail
We recently came across Presentail, a Beirut-based startup paving the way towards the current and future success of Lebanon’s E-commerce sector. Founded by Adnan Zakaria Ammache in 2018, Presentail is an online gifting and delivery platform that solves the pain points of Lebanese expatriates worldwide. With Presentail, Lebanese expatriates can now seamlessly send gifts to their family and friends living in Lebanon.
Since its launch, the company has partnered with a multitude of local vendors from Lebanon for sourcing a wide range of gifting items that expatriates can explore including flowers, cakes, chocolate, electronics, and much more. The best part is that regardless of your location, you can order and get the gifts delivered to recipients in Lebanon the same day. The platform is backed with multiple checkout options including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Notably, Presentail’s business model not only solves customer pain points but also supports small businesses in Lebanon, especially amid economically challenging times.
About the founder
Adnan Zakaria Ammache grew up in Lebanon and graduated from International College in 2015. After graduating from high school, he travelled to pursue his undergraduate studies in Finance and Global Business at NYU Stern School of Business in New York, USA. Before his startup days, Adnan garnered work experience at a number of companies in the US including MetaProp NYC, Broadgate Advisers, Venture for America, and PathSpot among others.
After consistently working and scaling Presentail for over a two-year period, Adnan also launched Hadiyatee as a sub-brand that inherits the same concept from Presentail but for the Jordanian expatriates.
Since 2018, he has been leading Presentail and its sub-brands including Hadiyatee as the Founder & Chief Executive Officer.
Core-Cognition
While pursuing his graduation at NYU, US, Adnan Ammache experienced challenges while sending gifts to his family and friends living in Lebanon on important occasions. From there, Adnan got the idea of creating a solution for Lebanese expatriates as well as for other countries that witness mass migration.
During his time abroad, Adnan made numerous connections and networked with other Lebanese expatriates with backgrounds similar to his. He discovered how expatriates have similar pain points, and that ignited his enthusiasm to launch a digital platform to help expatriates maintain long-distance connections through gift-giving.
Target Audience
Presentail primarily targets Lebanese expatriates familiar with the internet and technology. These users typically reside in moderate to high purchasing-power nations including UAE, KSA, USA, and Canada among others. The platform’s user base mostly come from the 25 to 45 years age bracket.
Growth Plans
Presentail is aiming to raise its next funding round to revolutionize the online gifting domain in the region by partnering with more vendors, improving technological infrastructure, and offering personalised gifting options tailored to respective occasions. Besides this, the funds will help the company add more manpower, become a regional brand catering to expatriates from other Arabic-speaking nations across the MENA region.
Presentail – Brand Digest
Editor’s Note
Startups across the MENA region have emerged as key drivers of job creation and economic growth for the last decade in line with governments’ goals to stretch economies beyond oil and gas. Despite the Lebanon economic and financial crisis followed by the COVID-19 situation, the startups in the country are tapping opportunities and attracting investor interest. It is worth noting that Lebanon is also the home for Anghami, MENA’s leading music streaming platform that went public earlier this year. With more support from GCC countries, innovation, and accelerator programs, Lebanon will soon be a flourishing startup ecosystem.
