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This episode is the third in a five-part series filmed on the ground in Saudi Arabia in partnership with COLABS, exploring the founders, operators and ideas shaping the Kingdom’s startup ecosystem.
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We just published my conversation with Zeid Husban, co-founder and CEO of Saudi dining startup SPICE, on the FWDstart Podcast. You can watch it on YouTube and Spotify.
Zeid previously built and exited two food-tech businesses, ifood.jo and POSRocket, before taking a year off and eventually returning to Saudi to build SPICE.
SPICE gives restaurants cash upfront in exchange for twice that amount in dining credit, which it then has to generate customers to redeem. Diners receive 20% cashback, while restaurants get financing and additional footfall.
We got into the economics, why restaurants initially thought the proposition sounded too good to be true, the risks of the model, and why building a third startup has been considerably harder than Zeid expected.
The FWDstart Podcast
We've had some great conversations recently, including Bassel El Koussa on raising $45 million, surviving Uber's arrival and rebuilding Quiqup from Dubai; Tewfik Cassis on Lean's ambitions beyond open banking, from Pay by Bank to stablecoins; and Rabea Ataya on two decades of entrepreneurship and why the old MENA startup playbook no longer works.
If you’re interested in coming on the FWDstart podcast, reach out to [email protected] If you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, email me at [email protected].
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Independent reporting, deep dives and analysis on the companies, investors and markets shaping technology across the Middle East and North Africa
