Spades co-founders: L-R: Adnan Haque, Sameer Poonja, Mehdi Chraibi; Credits: Supplied
Dubai, UAE-based Spades has recently announced its angel round of $2.5 million that included prominent European business angels such as Thibaud Elzière (Founder, Fotolia & eFounders), Eduardo Ronzano (Founder, KelDoc & Managing Partner, Secret Fund), and Yan Hascoet, Othmane Bouhlal, Omar Benmoussa – the Founders of Chauffeur Privé – Kapten (acquired by Free Now), which was closed with early investments from global & regional VCs such as Nordstar and Impact46.
Founded by Mehdi Chraibi, Adnan Haque, and Sameer Poonja after successful careers building digital products used by millions of users at VISA, Emirates Airline, Oracle, Millicom and Rocket Internet. The team is backed by executives with leadership roles at global Payment Service Providers (Adyen, VISA & MasterCard), Cloud Kitchens and multiple Hospitality Houses in the Middle East.
There’s no denying that the Middle East is growing fast and its restaurant scene is growing even faster. Dining in the UAE means exploring one of the most diverse, vibrant, and delicious food destinations on the planet.
According to the company, restaurants are increasingly turning to Spades to keep up with dynamic demand while providing a seamless checkout experience for dine-in customers to pay their bills.
The FinTech payment startup has already signed over 150 restaurants in its first 12 weeks and launched with major brands in UAE such as NOLA, Couqley, Alaca, and The Sum of Us. The company is growing fast and recruiting multiple roles across the board this year to cope with its expansion in the GCC and beyond.
Spades allows guests to easily pay their bill by scanning a code or tapping to pay, without any downloads or registration, translating into shorter wait times. Trustworthy, and reliable, the platform provides the fastest and most secure payment solution that integrates seamlessly into all major POS systems, making refunds and reconciliation just a click away. While other like-minded rival technologies create a disconnect between customers and restaurants, Spades has a human-centric approach that increases engagement throughout.
Partner restaurants have already reported doubling their staff tips, turning tables faster, saving trees and improving guest service. With a solution that caters to both restaurants and customers, Spades is set to revolutionize F&B in the region with just a quick scan and a couple of taps!
Speaking of the goals, Co-founder of Spades, Adnan Haque in a press statement said,
“With Spades, we have created a seamless payment portal that is fast, secure, and convenient. Our goal is to give back time to customers and restaurants, and create a perfect “phy-gital” harmony that helps achieve an exceptional dine-in experience.”
Saud Alsahaf, Investment Associate at Impact46, shared,
“F&B is an important industry in the local market, and Spades is offering a powerful digital solution to improve the experience for all stakeholders in the value chain. We look forward to making Spades the standard for restaurant payment.”
Alex Economides, Co-founder and Managing Director of NOLA Social House & Eatery, said,
“Since starting with Spades we’ve noticed our staff having more time to engage with guests at the end of their dine-in visit. Rather than running around at peak hours printing bills and collecting payments. Exceptional service has always been one of the WOW factors at Nola, so with Spades’ efficient and convenient payment method we see a perfect fit.”
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