Saudi Arabia’s on-demand economy is expanding at an extraordinary pace. Consumers have grown accustomed to ordering meals, groceries, and products with just a few taps on their smartphones and receiving them within hours, sometimes even minutes. Behind this seamless experience, however, lies a highly fragmented ecosystem of restaurants, logistics companies, e-commerce platforms, and delivery operators that often function independently using disconnected systems.

For Waleed Ghoneim, a veteran of Saudi Arabia’s delivery sector, this fragmentation represented a far bigger opportunity than launching yet another delivery application.

Saudi-based Pickappo has announced the successful closing of a SAR 2 million pre-seed investment round, equivalent to approximately $535,000, with participation from an angel investor and an investment fund. The funding will support the development of the company’s technology platform as it seeks to become the enabling infrastructure layer for Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing delivery ecosystem.

Solving the Hidden Problem in Delivery

Most consumers interact only with the front-end delivery experience. They place orders through apps, track drivers in real time, and receive products at their doorstep. What they rarely see is the complexity behind the scenes.

Restaurants often rely on different systems from logistics providers. E-commerce businesses use separate platforms, while government entities and marketplaces have their own requirements. This lack of interoperability creates inefficiencies, increases operational costs, and limits scalability.

Pickappo believes the solution is not to build another delivery company but to create the technology that allows existing players to work together more efficiently.

“Through my experience in the delivery sector, I realized that the real challenge was not creating a new application or launching another delivery company, but rather the absence of a technology infrastructure capable of connecting all stakeholders efficiently,” said Waleed Ghoneim, Founder and CEO of Pickappo.

He added, “Pickappo does not compete with delivery companies or ordering applications. Instead, it builds the technology layer that enables them to work together through a unified and more flexible network.”

Founders With Deep Industry Experience

Pickappo’s vision is shaped by founders who have spent years operating within Saudi Arabia’s delivery ecosystem.

Before launching Pickappo, Ghoneim played a role in the early stages of HungerStation, one of the Kingdom’s leading food delivery platforms. He later continued his journey with Nana, a major grocery delivery company. These experiences gave him firsthand exposure to the operational challenges that arise when multiple stakeholders attempt to coordinate within a fragmented market.

Joining him is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Ahmed Siam, who brings more than fifteen years of software engineering expertise. Siam has led the development of Pickappo’s scalable infrastructure, ensuring that the platform can support increasingly complex logistics operations as the company grows.

Together, the founders bring a combination of operational insight and technical capability that positions Pickappo to address a critical industry pain point.

Early Traction Signals Market Demand

Although still at the pre-seed stage, Pickappo has already achieved significant milestones that suggest strong market validation.

Since its founding, the company has built a network comprising more than 100 logistics companies. It has also established multiple technical integrations with ordering platforms, restaurants, and online merchants. In addition, Pickappo has secured partnerships with both local and international brands while signing agreements with government entities.

These achievements indicate that businesses across the ecosystem recognize the value of a shared technology infrastructure capable of streamlining operations and improving collaboration.

Rather than forcing participants to replace their existing systems, Pickappo integrates with them, creating a more connected and efficient network.

Investing in AI and Automation

The newly secured capital will primarily be used to accelerate product development and enhance the company’s technological capabilities. Pickappo plans to deepen its use of artificial intelligence and automation to improve operational efficiency throughout the delivery value chain. AI-powered technologies can optimize delivery routing, forecast demand patterns, automate workflows, and allocate resources more effectively.

The company also intends to attract top talent and expand its network of strategic partnerships, both of which will be essential as it scales its operations.

As the delivery industry evolves, businesses increasingly require intelligent infrastructure capable of adapting to changing consumer expectations and operational complexities. Pickappo aims to provide exactly that.

Riding Saudi Arabia’s Logistics Transformation

The funding round comes at a pivotal moment for Saudi Arabia’s logistics and digital commerce sectors. Driven by Vision 2030 initiatives, the Kingdom has invested heavily in digital transformation, supply chain modernization, and infrastructure development. Consumer expectations have also shifted dramatically, with speed and convenience becoming non-negotiable aspects of the customer experience. This environment creates substantial opportunities for companies operating behind the scenes.

While delivery applications compete for consumers’ attention, infrastructure providers that enable coordination and efficiency may emerge as some of the ecosystem’s most valuable players. As businesses look for ways to scale profitably, the need for interoperable technology platforms becomes increasingly important. Pickappo’s infrastructure-first approach places it at the center of this transformation.

Looking Beyond Saudi Arabia

Although Saudi Arabia remains its immediate priority, Pickappo’s long-term ambitions extend across the broader region. Many Middle Eastern markets face similar challenges, with fragmented delivery ecosystems consisting of merchants, logistics providers, and marketplaces operating independently. If Pickappo successfully proves its model within the Kingdom, there is significant potential to replicate its technology across neighboring markets.

The company’s focus on enabling collaboration rather than competition may prove particularly powerful in regions where interoperability remains limited.

As each new logistics partner joins the network and each new integration strengthens the platform, Pickappo moves closer to becoming the connective tissue underpinning modern delivery ecosystems.

Building the Infrastructure No One Sees

Consumers rarely think about the systems coordinating the deliveries they receive every day. They simply expect convenience, reliability, and speed. Yet these experiences depend on invisible networks functioning seamlessly behind the scenes.

Pickappo is betting that the future of on-demand commerce will not be defined solely by who delivers the fastest. Instead, it will be shaped by the companies building the infrastructure that enables everyone else to move faster together.

For Pickappo, this pre-seed investment is more than a funding milestone. It represents the beginning of an effort to become the digital backbone of Saudi Arabia’s next generation delivery economy.

Mohammed Abubakr

Mohammed Abubakr is the Founder & Editor of StartupMuslim.com. Through StartupMuslim, he documents the journeys of Muslim founders across industries, focusing on the challenges they overcome, the vision that drives them, and the impact they create.His work centers on building a narrative layer for the global Muslim startup ecosystem—one that not only highlights success, but also captures the process, discipline, and values behind it. By conducting in-depth interviews and publishing founder stories, he aims to inspire and enable the next generation of Muslim entrepreneurs to think bigger and build with purpose.