Women’s Day Spotlight: Female-Founded Instashop Acquired by Talabat for $32M

March is Women’s History Month, and March 8th is International Women’s Day, a time to recognize the contributions of women to the global economy and society over the years.?

Especially for this year, in which a Mastercard study found 49% of women in the UAE identifying as entrepreneurs compared to the 47% of men. This can all be credited to the country’s dynamic business environment that has targeted initiatives to support female entrepreneurs across various industries.

Among the popular sectors female entrepreneurs contribute to are the food and beverage industry by 26%, e-commerce industry by 22%, and cosmetics industry by 19%. Notably, this demonstrates dominance and potential for women in the consumer-driven industries.?

Recently, we got to see a female founded online delivery business being acquired by Talabat - the Gulf region’s biggest online food delivery business for $32 million. Initially, started as a restaurant delivery service provider in 2004, Talabat decided to expand and enter the grocery and household essentials online delivery market in 2021, launching Talabat Mart.?

Since its close competitor is Instashop which has over 500,000 active users with 53.57% of its customers based in the UAE, acquiring the online platform will strengthen its position in the market allowing the two to outdo their major rivals Deliveroo and Careem.

Moreover, Instashop’s gross market value has risen by 16% in last year making it the right choice for Talabat to expand its portfolio, as for Instashop the acquisition is likely to elongate its growth potential through Talabat’s extensive network and operational expertise.?

Back in 2015, over a phone call Ioanna Angelidaki and John Tsioris decided to start Instashop after a bad supermarket home delivery experience. In an interview, Ioanna spoke about how they started small by onboarding one grocery store with deliveries to only one building.?

She further spoke about the challenges of establishing a grocery delivery app pre-COVID when the delivery timings would dissuade shoppers from online grocery shopping. Whereas during the pandemic it became the only resort to shop. Instashop has managed to change the grocery shopping landscape in the UAE.

In the bygone days, small grocery stores would take over-the-phone orders and send out their full-time delivery riders on bicycles to make deliveries. With the emerging and growing online grocery shopping platforms, groceries do not need to hire full-time employees to manage the logistics of noting orders and delivering them. This has significantly reduced costs for businesses whilst enabling them to access customers across greater distances.?

Ioanna credits her marketing team for navigating the surge in demand during the lockdown, as they took on various roles, including customer service, to meet growing needs and ensure the app’s technology ran smoothly. Today, she continues to lead the team as Chief Marketing Officer.

Indeed, the pink app’s acquisition has been making headlines but there has been hardly any mention of the woman who made history by revolutionizing the UAE’s online grocery shopping market.?

Who are you celebrating this International Women’s Day?