From Solving a Personal Problem to Building a National Marketplace
Some of the world’s most successful startups begin not with a grand business plan, but with a frustrating personal experience. Amazon started as an online bookstore before becoming the world’s largest marketplace. Airbnb emerged when its founders struggled to pay rent. For Kayed Qunibi, the inspiration behind Dumyah came from an experience that millions of young parents know all too well—the overwhelming journey of preparing for their first child.
When Kayed and his wife were expecting their daughter, Sarah, what should have been one of the happiest moments of their lives quickly became unexpectedly stressful. Finding baby products meant driving across different malls, pharmacies, and specialty stores, comparing prices, checking product availability, and often discovering that the item they needed was out of stock. As working parents with limited time, they found the process exhausting and inefficient. More importantly, they realized there was no single trusted platform where parents could discover everything they needed in one place.
That experience planted the seed for what would eventually become Dumyah. What started as an online destination for mothers and babies has steadily evolved into one of Jordan’s fastest-growing e-commerce marketplaces. Today, Kayed’s ambition extends far beyond serving young families. His vision is to build a platform that becomes synonymous with online shopping in Jordan—a marketplace where customers can purchase everything from toys and groceries to home essentials, beauty products, electronics accessories, books, pet supplies, and fashion through one trusted digital ecosystem.
For Kayed, however, the story has never been simply about selling products online. It has always been about building the digital infrastructure that enables commerce to flourish.
A Career Built on Technology and Product Innovation
Long before becoming an entrepreneur, Kayed had already spent nearly two decades immersed in technology. His career exposed him to some of the region’s most influential technology companies and international organizations, giving him a unique perspective on how digital products are built, scaled, and adopted by users.
Over the course of more than eighteen years, he held technical and leadership roles at organizations including MenaITech, Maktoob, Yahoo, the United Nations, and later WashyWash, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. Each experience strengthened his understanding of software engineering, product development, operations, and technology leadership. More importantly, they exposed him to the enormous potential of technology as a tool for solving real-world business problems.
Yet despite enjoying a successful career, Kayed increasingly found himself drawn toward entrepreneurship. Building products for other organizations was intellectually rewarding, but he wanted to create something with lasting impact—something that addressed a genuine market gap while contributing to Jordan’s growing digital economy.
Unlike many founders who chase emerging technology trends, Kayed was motivated by a far simpler question: What real problem are people struggling with every day?
The answer was waiting much closer to home than he expected.
Building More Than an Online Store
When Dumyah launched in 2016, it entered a market where e-commerce was still developing. Consumer trust in online shopping was limited, logistics networks were evolving, and many local retailers had little or no digital presence. Rather than viewing these challenges as obstacles, Kayed saw them as opportunities to build an ecosystem that benefited both customers and suppliers.
Initially, the company focused on mothers, babies, toys, and family products—the categories that had inspired its creation. This narrow focus allowed Dumyah to earn the trust of parents who valued product quality, convenience, and reliability during one of the most important stages of their lives.
However, Kayed always believed the underlying problem extended beyond baby products. The real challenge was that Jordan lacked a comprehensive digital marketplace capable of bringing together suppliers, brands, and consumers within a single platform.
Over time, that realization transformed Dumyah’s strategy. Instead of remaining a niche retailer, the company began expanding into additional product categories while investing heavily in marketplace technology. Today, Dumyah offers more than 100,000 products from over 4,000 brands supplied by more than 580 merchants. Its ambition is no longer to become the leading baby products platform in Jordan. Instead, it aims to become the country’s version of Amazon or Noon—a trusted marketplace serving virtually every aspect of everyday life.
That evolution reflects Kayed’s broader philosophy about entrepreneurship. Successful businesses, he believes, should continuously adapt to changing customer needs rather than remain confined by the problem they originally set out to solve.
The Hidden Complexity Behind Every Online Order
Ask most consumers what happens when they click the “Buy Now” button on an e-commerce website, and the answer appears deceptively simple. An order is placed, payment is processed, and a package arrives a few days later.
For marketplace operators like Kayed, however, every completed order represents the successful coordination of dozens of interconnected systems.
Behind every purchase lies a complex network involving suppliers, inventory management, pricing, product information, payment processing, delivery logistics, customer service, catalog management, marketing campaigns, and technology infrastructure. If any one of these components fails, the customer experience suffers. This operational complexity is precisely what excites Kayed.
Rather than viewing Dumyah as an online store, he describes it as marketplace infrastructure—a technology platform that enables thousands of suppliers to participate in Jordan’s digital economy while providing consumers with a reliable and convenient shopping experience.
One of the company’s greatest sources of satisfaction comes from helping local businesses embrace e-commerce. Many suppliers possess excellent products but lack the digital tools, operational expertise, or technological capabilities needed to sell effectively online. Dumyah provides those businesses with access to technology, logistics, digital marketing, and a rapidly growing customer base, allowing them to compete in an increasingly digital marketplace.
In many ways, the company’s success is measured not only by the number of customers it serves, but also by the number of local businesses it empowers.
Quiet Growth Through Consistent Execution
Like many startup success stories, Dumyah did not experience explosive overnight growth. Instead, its progress has been built through years of disciplined execution, continuous product improvements, and operational refinement. The contrast between the company’s early days and its current scale illustrates just how far it has come.
During its first year of operations, Dumyah fulfilled approximately 950 orders with a small founding team. Today, the platform has processed more than 200,000 orders, serves approximately 150,000 registered customers, and has grown into one of Jordan’s largest specialized online marketplaces. Revenue has followed a similarly steady trajectory, reaching approximately 1.2 million Jordanian Dinars in 2023 before increasing to approximately 1.39 million Jordanian Dinars in 2024.
Behind those numbers lies years of investment in technology. Dumyah has introduced supplier management portals, mobile applications, advanced search capabilities, delivery management systems, and, most recently, a transition toward a true multi-supplier marketplace model. Rather than simply adding new products, the company has consistently invested in the infrastructure required to support long-term marketplace growth.
For Kayed, these milestones represent more than business achievements. They validate a belief that technology companies capable of serving millions of customers can be built in Jordan by local entrepreneurs who deeply understand the needs of their market.
Winning Trust in a Market That Wasn’t Ready
Every startup faces uncertainty in its early days, but building an e-commerce company in Jordan nearly a decade ago required founders to overcome challenges that went far beyond technology.
When Dumyah launched, online shopping was still gaining acceptance. Many consumers preferred visiting physical stores, inspecting products in person, and paying with cash. Digital payments were far less common than they are today, while logistics infrastructure and last-mile delivery networks were still evolving. Convincing customers to trust an online marketplace—particularly one focused on products for newborns and young children—required more than competitive pricing. It demanded consistency, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to customer service.
For Kayed, earning that trust became one of the company’s highest priorities. Every successful delivery represented more than a completed transaction. It strengthened customer confidence in online shopping itself. Every satisfied parent became an advocate who introduced friends and family to a new way of purchasing products. Slowly but steadily, Dumyah built its reputation not through expensive marketing campaigns but through reliable execution.
At the same time, the company faced another equally important challenge: convincing merchants to embrace digital commerce.
Many local suppliers had spent decades building traditional retail businesses. Selling through an online marketplace required new pricing strategies, digital catalogues, inventory synchronization, photography, customer support processes, and fulfillment capabilities. Dumyah found itself educating suppliers as much as onboarding them. Rather than acting solely as a retailer, the company became a technology partner helping hundreds of businesses modernize their operations.
This dual challenge—building trust among both consumers and merchants—proved to be one of the defining aspects of Dumyah’s journey.
Growth Built on Discipline Rather Than Hype
Startup ecosystems often celebrate companies that raise large funding rounds or achieve rapid valuations. Kayed views success through a different lens.
Throughout Dumyah’s journey, the company has focused on sustainable growth rather than chasing vanity metrics. Every new product category, every supplier partnership, and every technology investment has been made with long-term scalability in mind.
That disciplined approach is reflected in the company’s numbers. From fewer than one thousand orders during its first year, Dumyah has grown into a marketplace processing hundreds of thousands of transactions while serving a rapidly expanding customer base across Jordan. The platform now brings together more than 580 merchants and over 4,000 brands, creating a diverse ecosystem that continues to grow each year. Revenue has followed a steady upward trajectory, demonstrating that the company’s expansion has been supported by real customer demand rather than unsustainable growth strategies.
For Kayed, however, the most meaningful metric extends beyond financial performance. He believes success should also be measured by the opportunities created for local businesses. Every merchant that joins Dumyah gains access to technology, digital marketing, logistics capabilities, and customers that would otherwise be difficult to reach independently. In that sense, the marketplace has become an enabler of entrepreneurship, allowing hundreds of Jordanian businesses to participate in the country’s growing digital economy.
That philosophy reflects a broader belief that technology platforms should create value for entire ecosystems rather than concentrating value within a single company.
Staying Ahead Through Technology
The e-commerce industry continues to evolve at remarkable speed. Customer expectations change constantly, competition intensifies, and new technologies redefine how people discover and purchase products. For marketplace operators, standing still is rarely an option.
Kayed believes technology will increasingly become the defining competitive advantage for companies operating in digital commerce. Artificial intelligence, automation, personalized recommendations, predictive inventory management, and conversational shopping are rapidly transforming customer experiences around the world. Companies that successfully integrate these technologies will not only improve operational efficiency but also create more engaging and intuitive shopping journeys.
Recognizing these trends, Dumyah continues to invest heavily in its technology platform. The company has expanded its marketplace architecture, strengthened supplier tools, improved mobile applications, and introduced systems that make it easier for merchants to manage inventory, pricing, and customer interactions.
Rather than viewing technology as a supporting function, Kayed considers it the foundation upon which future growth will be built.
His vision is clear: create a marketplace that becomes smarter with every transaction, delivering greater value to customers while making it easier for merchants to operate and grow.
Leadership Rooted in Empowerment
As Dumyah has expanded, Kayed’s role has evolved significantly. In the company’s early days, he was deeply involved in nearly every aspect of the business, from product development and operations to customer support and strategic decision-making. Like many startup founders, he initially believed that personally overseeing every detail was essential to maintaining quality.
Experience taught him otherwise. One of the most valuable lessons he has learned is the importance of building strong teams and empowering people to take ownership of their work. Sustainable companies cannot depend entirely on their founders. They require talented individuals who share the organization’s vision and are trusted to make decisions independently.
This philosophy has shaped Dumyah’s internal culture. Rather than focusing solely on technical skills, Kayed emphasizes collaboration, accountability, continuous learning, and customer obsession. He believes the strongest organizations are built by people who are aligned around a shared mission rather than simply completing assigned tasks.
That leadership approach has enabled the company to scale while maintaining the entrepreneurial culture that defined its earliest years.
Looking Toward the Next Chapter
Although Dumyah has established itself as one of Jordan’s leading online marketplaces, Kayed views the company’s current position as only the beginning of a much larger journey.
Over the coming years, the company plans to continue expanding its marketplace model by onboarding additional merchants, increasing product selection, and strengthening the technology that powers its platform. Artificial intelligence will play an increasingly important role, helping personalize customer experiences, improve operational efficiency, and enable smarter decision-making for both consumers and suppliers.
At the same time, Dumyah intends to deepen its position as the digital infrastructure connecting Jordan’s retail ecosystem. Rather than competing with local businesses, the marketplace aims to provide them with the tools, visibility, and technology required to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.
Kayed believes this collaborative approach will ultimately create greater long-term value than simply operating as another online retailer.
His vision is not merely to build a successful e-commerce company. It is to help shape the future of commerce in Jordan by creating a platform where technology empowers entrepreneurs, merchants, and consumers alike.
For founders building startups in emerging markets, Dumyah’s journey offers an important reminder. Transformational companies are rarely created overnight. They are built through years of patient execution, relentless problem-solving, and an unwavering commitment to serving customers better than anyone else.
As Jordan’s digital economy continues to mature, Kayed and his team are betting that the country’s next generation of commerce will be driven not by physical storefronts alone, but by intelligent marketplaces capable of connecting businesses and consumers in entirely new ways.
Leadership Beyond Business
Ask Kayed what has contributed most to Dumyah’s growth, and his answer is unlikely to begin with technology, funding, or market opportunity. Instead, he speaks about people.
Like many founders, Kayed initially believed that entrepreneurship meant having all the answers. During Dumyah’s early years, almost every important decision flowed through him. Product development, supplier relationships, operations, customer experience, technology, and strategy all demanded his direct attention. While this level of involvement was necessary during the company’s infancy, it eventually became clear that sustainable growth required a different kind of leadership.
Over time, Kayed learned one of the most difficult lessons every founder must eventually embrace: great companies are not built by extraordinary founders alone—they are built by extraordinary teams.
That realization fundamentally changed the way he leads. Rather than measuring success by how much he personally accomplished, he began focusing on how effectively he could empower others to make decisions, solve problems, and grow into leaders themselves. Delegation evolved from being a management technique into a philosophy. Trust became just as important as technical competence.
Today, Dumyah’s culture reflects that evolution. Employees are encouraged to think independently, challenge assumptions, and continuously improve both themselves and the organization. For Kayed, leadership is no longer about controlling every outcome. It is about creating an environment where talented people can consistently produce outcomes better than any individual could achieve alone.
Innovation Begins With Listening
Technology companies often become obsessed with building new features, adopting emerging technologies, or chasing the latest industry trends. Kayed believes innovation starts somewhere much simpler—with listening.
Throughout Dumyah’s journey, customer feedback has remained one of the company’s most valuable assets. Every complaint, every delayed delivery, every missing product, and every feature request represents an opportunity to improve the marketplace. Instead of viewing operational problems as failures, Dumyah treats them as valuable signals that guide product development.
This customer-first mindset has allowed the company to evolve naturally alongside changing consumer expectations. What began as a specialized marketplace for mothers and babies gradually expanded because customers themselves expressed the need for a broader shopping destination. The transition into a full marketplace was not driven by ambition alone; it was driven by demand.
As artificial intelligence, automation, and predictive analytics continue transforming commerce globally, Kayed believes successful companies will not simply deploy new technologies because they are fashionable. They will use technology to remove friction, simplify experiences, and solve real customer problems. In his view, technology should never become the story. The customer should.
Advice for the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
Having spent years building a company from the ground up, Kayed understands that entrepreneurship is often romanticized from the outside. Headlines celebrate funding rounds, acquisitions, and rapid growth, but rarely capture the uncertainty that founders navigate every day. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs reflects that reality.
First, start with a genuine problem rather than a fashionable idea. Markets change, technologies evolve, and business models come and go, but companies that solve meaningful customer problems have far greater chances of enduring. Dumyah itself was born not from a business opportunity spotted in a spreadsheet, but from a personal frustration experienced by a young family preparing for the arrival of their first child.
Second, be prepared for a journey that takes far longer than expected. Building sustainable companies requires patience, resilience, and the willingness to continue improving long after the initial excitement fades. Overnight success stories are often the result of years of invisible work.
Finally, never stop learning. Entrepreneurship demands constant adaptation. Markets shift, customer expectations evolve, and technologies transform industries at remarkable speed. Founders who remain curious and open to learning position themselves to navigate uncertainty far more effectively than those who assume yesterday’s knowledge will solve tomorrow’s challenges.
For Kayed, continuous learning has been one of the defining characteristics of his own entrepreneurial journey.
A Vision Beyond Dumyah
Although Dumyah has grown into one of Jordan’s leading e-commerce marketplaces, Kayed’s ambitions extend beyond the success of a single company.
He believes Jordan possesses the talent, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit necessary to produce globally competitive technology companies. What the ecosystem requires is continued investment in innovation, stronger support for entrepreneurs, and greater confidence in locally built solutions.
Companies like Dumyah demonstrate that world-class digital platforms do not have to emerge exclusively from Silicon Valley or major global technology hubs. They can also be built in Amman by entrepreneurs who possess deep understanding of their local markets and an unwavering commitment to solving regional challenges.
Looking ahead, Kayed hopes Dumyah becomes more than a successful marketplace. He wants it to serve as an example for future founders—that globally relevant companies can emerge from Jordan while remaining deeply connected to the needs of their communities.
As the country’s digital economy continues to mature, he sees enormous opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to tackle complex problems across sectors such as logistics, fintech, healthcare, education, and artificial intelligence.
The future, he believes, belongs to founders who combine technological excellence with genuine empathy for the people they serve.
Building the Infrastructure for the Future
Every successful marketplace eventually becomes something larger than the products it sells. Amazon is no longer simply an online retailer; it is infrastructure powering global commerce. Shopify enables millions of entrepreneurs to build digital businesses. Alibaba transformed how manufacturers and merchants connect across continents.
Kayed believes Dumyah is following a similar path within its own market. While consumers interact with the platform to purchase products, the company’s deeper mission is to build the infrastructure that enables thousands of merchants to participate in Jordan’s digital economy. Every supplier onboarded, every technology enhancement deployed, and every customer served strengthens an ecosystem that extends well beyond the company itself.
That perspective explains why Dumyah’s success cannot be measured solely through revenue or order volume. Its true impact lies in helping local businesses embrace digital transformation while making online commerce more accessible, reliable, and trusted for consumers across the country. In many ways, the company is helping shape the future of retail in Jordan.
The Legacy He Hopes to Leave
When entrepreneurs are asked about legacy, many speak about valuations, market leadership, or global expansion. Kayed’s answer is noticeably different.
He hopes Dumyah will be remembered as a company that simplified people’s lives while creating opportunities for businesses to grow. If future entrepreneurs look at Dumyah and believe they too can build ambitious technology companies from Jordan, he will consider that one of his greatest achievements.
More importantly, he wants the company to demonstrate that long-term success is built through trust rather than shortcuts. Trust earned from customers. Trust built with suppliers. Trust developed within teams. Those relationships, he believes, create stronger businesses than any temporary competitive advantage.
Looking back, it is remarkable that Dumyah’s journey began with two expectant parents searching for baby products before the birth of their daughter. What started as a personal inconvenience has evolved into one of Jordan’s most recognized digital marketplaces, serving hundreds of thousands of customers while helping hundreds of businesses participate in the country’s digital economy.
For Kayed, however, the journey is far from over. The marketplace he envisioned years ago continues to evolve. New technologies will emerge, customer expectations will change, and commerce itself will look dramatically different over the next decade.
Yet one principle remains unchanged. The best companies are not built by chasing trends. They are built by solving real problems for real people.
That simple philosophy transformed a young father’s personal frustration into one of Jordan’s leading e-commerce platforms—and it continues to shape Dumyah’s vision for the future.
