Sabbar

On-demand staffing for blue collar and gig work in the Middle East and North Africa

Company: Sabbar is a Saudi-based tech startup that offers an on-demand staffing platform specializing in blue-collar jobs in the retail, hospitality, and entertainment industry in MENA. The company creates job opportunities by reaching out to businesses and publishing their peak-hours and seasonal staff needs in a mobile app which connects to thousands of workers looking for flexible and hourly work.

HQ Location & Year Founded: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2019

Founder: Mohamed T. Ibrahim, Co-founder and CEO, is an engineer turned technology entrepreneur. Prior to Sabbar, Mohamed co-founded Dopravo, an internationally awarded digital agency, in 2008 out of Saudi Arabia. He has led key initiatives related to digital transformation for National Address, Saudi Telecom Company, Ministry of Commerce, General Entertainment Authority, Small Medium Enterprise Authority, and Ministry of Hajj & Umrah. Mohamed graduated with First Class Honors in Engineering and Mechatronics from Monash University. The other co-founders include Afnan Sherbeeni (Product and Growth) and Abdul Rahman Al-Mudaiheem (Business Development).

Funds Raised and VC Investors: $5.6 million from 500 Global, Derayah Ventures, Seedra Ventures, STV, VentureSouq and other VC and angel Investors.

• Where did the idea for Sabbar originate?

I have a background as a software engineer, entrepreneur and venture capitalist. In my previous startup, my brother and I co-founded an agency to develop mission-critical apps for the Saudi government. We grew this to over 80 engineers.. However, a few years ago, I had a hypothesis that led to the founding of Sabbar. Having since experimented and identified our product-market fit, we came up with a platform to help gig economy workers to secure timely and flexible work in our current markets of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

• What is the key problem that Sabbar intends to solve? 

Our platform solves problems for both sides of the marketplace. For gig economy job seekers, we provide flexibility and weekly payments. For employers, we offer immediate access to workers to fit seasonal needs, that can be monthly, weekly or even daily. In the Saudi market, we focus on the hospitality, retail and entertainment sectors, while our Egypt market focus is more on warehousing and logistics.

• How are you most differentiated as a service?

Sabbar is really focused on the Gen Z and Millennial workforce who value flexibility and not getting bored in their job, rather than long-term job security. These are workers who may need extra cash while studying or an additional income to meet their on-going needs. Or they are simply seeking employment options that fit their schedules, which may not match traditional “9-to-5” work environments. Our unique IP is in our matching engine, which so far has matched 140,000 shifts. We have mobile apps for workers, for employers, a web and mobile app.

• What are the company’s key accomplishments to date?

We have become the largest player in our space in the regions in which we operate. Over 30,000 people have been onboarded onto our platform, which include mostly students and transient workers who are looking for supplementary income. We have worked with over 300 companies that have hired workers through Sabbar with more than 700,000 total work hours placed. Employers are very happy with our platform as well as our workers have no-show rates lower than 2%, compared to a 10% industry average. 

• What lies ahead in the plans for Sabbar?

There are many plans in our pipeline. In the near term, we will be launching by year-end a full version of our platform. We are developing, for instance, a mobile wallet that will ease and provide instant payments to our gig workers. We also plan to work with our employer partners in developing an invoice financing solution that will allow them to better manage cash flow through business cycles. From a geographic expansion perspective, we are looking at Pakistan as a new market that can be well served by our solution.

Ron’s Take

Across the globe, more and more workers are opting for flexible work that fits their schedules. Lower wage earners have traditionally had little to no ability to control when and how they work and earn a living or supplemental income. The gig economy workforce is contributing to the democratization of work and Sabbar is on the forefront in the Middle East and North Africa by empowering such workers to take control of their livelihoods. While long-term job security may still be the preferred avenue for older and more experienced workers, many others, including younger generations prefer to make the most of seasonal and short-term employment opportunities. Sabbar is among a class of companies worldwide that will enable this.