Salasa's co-founders Hasan Alhazmi (left) and Abdulmajeed Alyemni. The pair plan to use proceeds of their latest funding round to expand across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region. Courtesy of 500 Startups
Salasa's co-founders Hasan Alhazmi (left) and Abdulmajeed Alyemni. The pair plan to use proceeds of their latest funding round to expand across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region. Courtesy of 500 Startups
Salasa's co-founders Hasan Alhazmi (left) and Abdulmajeed Alyemni. The pair plan to use proceeds of their latest funding round to expand across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region. Courtesy of 500 Startups
Salasa's co-founders Hasan Alhazmi (left) and Abdulmajeed Alyemni. The pair plan to use proceeds of their latest funding round to expand across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region. Courtesy of 500

Saudi tech start-up Salasa raises $8.6m amid expansion push


Alkesh Sharma
  • English
  • Arabic

Salasa, a technology fulfilment company in Saudi Arabia that handles orders for e-commerce companies, raised $8.6 million in a Series A funding round featuring Saudi Venture Capital Company and 500 Startups.

The fundraising into Salasa was led by Jeddah-based AlSulaiman Group, which already has investments in a number of sectors including retail, logistics, hospitality, financial services and e-commerce.

The investment will help the company to grow its network of partners and expand its services across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region.

“We are excited to have partnered with leading investors in the region and look forward to their valuable advice and support in backing our growth,” Abdulmajeed Alyemni, Salasa’s co-founder and chief executive, said.

Founded in 2016, Salasa offers a range of services for e-commerce businesses that includes order fulfilment services and storage of products in its own warehouse. It also offers resources to help smaller e-commerce companies to develop new products and enter new markets.

Salasa has shipped more than 10 million products to date on behalf of more than 300 local and international clients across 15 industries.

"We feel proud to lead this investment round in a start-up that provides services with a business model that promises rapid growth and development … especially in these difficult times where the world is going through Covid-19,” Saud AlSulaiman, chief executive of AlSulaiman Group, said.

“We have full trust in [the] Salasa team and its ability to move forward with the expansion and growth plan in the kingdom and the whole region," he added.

The e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa region is booming due to the popularity of smartphones and high rates of internet penetration.

E-commerce sales are set to triple to $28.5 billion in 2022, from $8.3bn in 2017, according to research from Bain & Company and Google.

"The market outlook indicates significant growth in this sector, and we are confident, as experts in this field, we can meet client demands faster, with better delivery experience, at affordable prices,” Hasan Alhazmi, co-founder and chief operating officer of Salasa, said.

“We are poised for growth and we are aggressively investing in our proprietary technology … to achieve superior operational excellence and utilise predictive analytics and insights to help our customers in making strategic decisions,” he added.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

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Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

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Brief scoreline:

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EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Match info

Premier League

Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Forced%20Deportations
%3Cp%3EWhile%20the%20Lebanese%20government%20has%20deported%20a%20number%20of%20refugees%20back%20to%20Syria%20since%202011%2C%20the%20latest%20round%20is%20the%20first%20en-mass%20campaign%20of%20its%20kind%2C%20say%20the%20Access%20Center%20for%20Human%20Rights%2C%20a%20non-governmental%20organization%20which%20monitors%20the%20conditions%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20in%20Lebanon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20past%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20General%20Security%20was%20responsible%20for%20the%20forced%20deportation%20operations%20of%20refugees%2C%20after%20forcing%20them%20to%20sign%20papers%20stating%20that%20they%20wished%20to%20return%20to%20Syria%20of%20their%20own%20free%20will.%20Now%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20army%2C%20specifically%20military%20intelligence%2C%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20security%20operation%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Mohammad%20Hasan%2C%20head%20of%20ACHR.%3Cbr%3EIn%20just%20the%20first%20four%20months%20of%202023%20the%20number%20of%20forced%20deportations%20is%20nearly%20double%20that%20of%20the%20entirety%20of%202022.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESince%20the%20beginning%20of%202023%2C%20ACHR%20has%20reported%20407%20forced%20deportations%20%E2%80%93%20200%20of%20which%20occurred%20in%20April%20alone.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20comparison%2C%20just%20154%20people%20were%20forcfully%20deported%20in%202022.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Violence%20
%3Cp%3EInstances%20of%20violence%20against%20Syrian%20refugees%20are%20not%20uncommon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJust%20last%20month%2C%20security%20camera%20footage%20of%20men%20violently%20attacking%20and%20stabbing%20an%20employee%20at%20a%20mini-market%20went%20viral.%20The%20store%E2%80%99s%20employees%20had%20engaged%20in%20a%20verbal%20altercation%20with%20the%20men%20who%20had%20come%20to%20enforce%20an%20order%20to%20shutter%20shops%2C%20following%20the%20announcement%20of%20a%20municipal%20curfew%20for%20Syrian%20refugees.%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThey%20thought%20they%20were%20Syrian%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20the%20mayor%20of%20the%20Nahr%20el%20Bared%20municipality%2C%20Charbel%20Bou%20Raad%2C%20of%20the%20attackers.%3Cbr%3EIt%20later%20emerged%20the%20beaten%20employees%20were%20Lebanese.%20But%20the%20video%20was%20an%20exemplary%20instance%20of%20violence%20at%20a%20time%20when%20anti-Syrian%20rhetoric%20is%20particularly%20heated%20as%20Lebanese%20politicians%20call%20for%20the%20return%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20to%20Syria.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Bio

Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride

She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.

Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years

Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves

She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Points to remember
  • Debate the issue, don't attack the person
  • Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
  • Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
  • Listen actively without interrupting
  • Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions