No one can deny that a lot of businesses were severely hit by the pandemic. But on the other hand, this curse was a blessing to many others and we’re not just talking about sanitizer manufacturers and face masks producers. Some businesses saw the pandemic as an opportunity, and did not only grow dramatically because of it, but they also managed to help governments solve critical issues. A perfect example of that is the Oman-based startup: eMushrif.
A wonderful way to wrap up the week! Thrilled for meeting a young, motivated, fresh and smart team of @emushrif a wonderful Omani company with a great future a head 💪 #Oman #Ambition #Leadership #FutureLeaders #Technology pic.twitter.com/XsshJWJ7h2
— Raed Ali (@Raedalis) June 10, 2021
Founded in 2016 by Adnan Al Shuaili, Awadh Al Shukaili, and Issa Al Shuaili, eMushrif started its journey by transforming Oman’s regular school buses to smart buses by deploying IoT technologies. eMushrif’s product enables automatic attendance marking, visual child check system and detection system to ensure no child left on the school bus. The system also provides school admins and parents with mobile apps to track buses and kids along with important notifications.
eMushrif and COVID-19
During the pandemic, Oman followed other countries’ measures and imposed lockdowns and strict rules in the Sultanate. eMushrif seized the opportunity of helping the government during these unprecedented times. The ambitious startup provided the government of Oman with IoT wearables used by people in isolation connected to a mobile app and sophisticated dashboards for quarantine compliance monitoring, implementing AI and crowd GPS technologies. In addition, eMushrif introduced a smart attendance system and advanced asset tracking for post-COVID-19 work environments utilizing its IoT and edge-AI technologies.
Funding and Acquisitions
In May 2019, eMushrif raised $1 million in a pre-Series A funding round. And in December 2020, the thriving startup managed to secure $2.3M in a Series A funding round, led by IDO Investments.
The startup currently operates in Oman, Kuwait, and Egypt and has completed 4 acquisition deals to expand the team and explore the opportunities in other markets. Their latest acquisition was the Cairo-based EdTech startup, Tareeqi.
