Yalla Market to Open Dark Stores in Every Emirate

Durov's Code has learnt that Yalla Market plans to open dark stores in all of the seven emirates of the UAE, as well as start accepting payments made with Russian cards.

In a conversation with Durov's Code, Leonid Dovbenko, CEO and founder of Yalla Market, a 15-min grocery delivery service based in Dubai, said the company plans to cover the entire territory of the UAE with a network of darkstores.

Currently, Yalla Market operates dark stores in Dubai, providing services in almost every part of the city. Abu Dhabi is said to become the next move for the rapidly growing start-up. "We need to open about 15 dark stores there to fully cover its food delivery needs", said Dovbenko.

The company continues to attract much investment, as it provides unique service in the UAE's rapidly growing economy.

Among those who have invested in us are two venture capital funds, four syndicates and 180 private investors. We recently signed our first $50 million term sheet with the Arabs,

Dovbenko said in a conversation with Durov's Code.

Among other plans, Dovbenko mentioned that the company plans to start accepting Russian cards, which have been blocked around the world after Visa and Mastercards have withdrawn from Russia. Recently, we reported that Russia and the UAE were in talks on introducing Russian MIR payment system cards to the UAE.

Read the full interview with CEO of Yalla Market Leonid Dovbenko tomorrow on our website and in Telegram channel.