The archive · Consumer Apps · Product decision · 2015–2025
Mrsool's bargain-delivery bet beat Uber and Facebook in Saudi; NOMW now readies it for IPO
Hyperlocal app where couriers bid on your errand won 4M Saudi users and top-30 App Store rank; 2025 majority stake by NOMW Capital targets a Tadawul IPO
Mrsool
What the business is
Mrsool is a Riyadh-based on-demand hyperlocal delivery platform where customers post orders from any store or restaurant and nearby couriers bid to run the errand, buy the items and deliver them — covering food, groceries, medicine and errands across Saudi Arabia.
Starting capital：Undisclosed multi-million Series A in 2019 led by STV and Raed Ventures
How it started
Founded in Riyadh in 2015 by Ayman Alsanad and Naif AlSamri, Mrsool grew organically before its first external round: in March 2019 STV (Saudi Telecom's $500M fund) and Raed Ventures led a multi-million Series A with angel Mazen Al Jubeir, after the app had processed over SAR 1 billion (~$267M) of orders in 2018.
What happened
By early 2019 Mrsool had 4 million registered users and 150,000 couriers, with SAR 1 billion of transactions in the prior year and an App Store ranking inside Saudi Arabia's top 30 — above Facebook and Uber, while Uber Eats sat outside the top 100. More than half of orders were food, with groceries, medicine and gifts making up the rest, and most were paid in cash. The founders planned expansion to Bahrain, the wider GCC and Egypt.
How it ended up
Mrsool kept its lead at home; in April 2025 NOMW Capital, a CMA-licensed Saudi investment firm, acquired a majority stake to strengthen its technology and logistics, expand within the Kingdom, and prepare the company for a potential listing on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).
Background
Mrsool is a Riyadh-based on-demand delivery platform founded in 2015 by Ayman Alsanad and Naif AlSamri. Its bet was that Saudi consumers would prefer a human, negotiable marketplace over standardized global apps: customers type what they want from any store or restaurant in the city, couriers bid a delivery price, and the two sides negotiate with chat, photos and voice notes.
The format matched local habits — bargaining, cash payment and personal trust — and grew organically. In March 2019 the company raised its first external round, a multi-million Series A led by STV (the $500M fund anchored by Saudi Telecom) and Raed Ventures, after processing over SAR 1 billion (~$267M) of orders in 2018.
By early 2019 Mrsool had about 4 million registered users and 150,000 couriers, and ranked in Saudi Arabia's top 30 most-downloaded apps — above Facebook and Uber, while Uber Eats was outside the top 100. More than half of orders were food, with groceries, medicine and gifts also flowing through the app, and most purchases were still paid for in cash.
Mrsool kept its position at home and grew within Saudi Arabia for another six years. In April 2025, NOMW Capital — a Saudi investment firm licensed by the Capital Market Authority — acquired a majority stake, citing plans to upgrade Mrsool's technology and logistics, expand within the Kingdom and prepare the company for a potential listing on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).
What has to be true
- Saudis were heavy smartphone users, but standardized delivery apps ignored the market's habits — bargaining, cash and personal trust.
- Crowdsourcing errands to couriers created supply elasticity: any store in the city could be served without building a restaurant network or warehouses.
- The social layer — chat, photos and voice notes — turned a utility into a trusted personal service, valuable to customers who could not easily drive.
- A localized winner stayed independent: a Saudi fund's 2025 majority acquisition kept the company local while preparing it for a Tadawul listing.
What can be applied
A platform that mirrors local habits — bargaining, chat, cash — can beat global UX giants: Mrsool outranked Uber and Facebook because it felt like the market, not like a delivery app.
Aftermath
As of April 2025 Mrsool remained Saudi Arabia's most prominent on-demand delivery platform. NOMW Capital's majority acquisition (value undisclosed) was aimed at strengthening its technological and logistics infrastructure, supporting expansion within the Kingdom, and readying the company for a future listing on the Saudi Exchange, consistent with the firm's strategy of scaling local tech companies for public markets.
Sources
- Saudi on-demand delivery startup Mrsool raises multi-million Series A
- Outdoing Uber, Facebook by Letting Saudis Bargain for Deliveries
- MRSOOL eyes IPO after NOMW Capital majority acquisition
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card