Safaqat Secures New Funding to Revolutionise Oman’s Digital Procurement Scene

Malaz Madani

Last updated 23-07-2025

3 min

Safaqat secured fresh funding from Oman Future Fund and Ithaqa Group, boosting Oman's startup scene.

The funds will enhance technology, user experience, and expand services to government clients and new markets.

Safaqat features tech like interactive dashboards and AI tools for analysing tenders and forecasting prices.

Founded by the Al Saifi siblings, it evolved from a simple app to a full-fledged tech venture.

Listening to user feedback was key to overcoming initial trust challenges in the digital procurement market.

Safaqat, the Omani digital procurement platform, has just wrapped up a fresh funding round with investment from Oman Future Fund and Ithaqa Group. It’s another encouraging signal for Oman’s startup scene—a bit of a feather in the cap, really, for anyone rooting for local digital ventures in the region.

According to the company, this latest cash injection is destined for several fronts: beefing up their underlying technology, smoothing out the user journey, attracting more homegrown talent, and expanding their services to government clients and fresh markets. If you’re following the story of digital transformation in the Gulf, you’ll know that moving procurement online is no walk in the park, but the potential is huge—spot on for a region keen to boost efficiency and transparency.

Safaqat hasn’t been shy about their tech, either. The platform already runs smart features like interactive dashboards, a notification engine, algorithms for shortlisting bids, and real-time reporting. And on top of all that, their team is busy developing new AI-powered tools to help analyse tenders and forecast prices—very much in line with the broader digital shift sweeping across the public and private sectors. I reckon staying ahead with AI is essential now; it’s not just a trendy add-on.

The platform operates under the oversight of Oman’s SME Development Authority, commonly known as “Riyada.” The story of Safaqat kicked off during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by four siblings: Majid, Suleiman, Ibrahim, and Al Moatasam Al Saifi. What began as a simple way to exchange price quotes over messaging apps soon ballooned into a full-fledged tech venture—a reminder for all of us at Arageek that some of the best startup ideas emerge from real, everyday headaches.

Al Moatasem Al Saifi pointed out that each sibling took responsibility for a different aspect of the development, leveraging their combined experience in the field of tenders. On the flip side, getting the market to trust a new digital player and convincing organisations to make the leap was, at the start, a real challenge—certainly more than just a bit of a faff. But, as he mentioned, the team’s trick was straightforward: keep listening to user feedback and update the system in line with what customers actually want. Frankly, that’s a lesson I’ve seen time and again—tech alone isn’t enough if you don’t bring people along for the ride.

As governments and companies across MENA go digital, platforms like Safaqat are well placed to stir things up. Are Omani startups finally on the cusp of something big? Time will tell, but for now, it’s definately a story to watch.

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