Whether you're buying clothes, groceries or consumer electronics, make sure you never overpay again and stop searching for promo codes to save money.
Dubai-based tech startup – Helwa – has launched a browser extension, or add-on, for Chrome and a mobile app to find discount coupons from your favourite online shopping sites and automatically insert them during checkout, saving the consumer money.
Helwa means sweet in Hindi and Arabic.
The venture is started by two tech journalists - Hitesh Uchil and Abbas Jaffar Ali - who have come out during these unprecedented times to help buyers save every penny, all under one roof and without downloading countless apps.
“It begins as a trickle and turns into a deluge. It is an opportunity for people to take care of their families as things are getting tighter and people have less money during Covid-19. It is the first automatic coupon finder site in the Middle East and North Africa,” Uchil said.
A one-stop-shop for all your purchases
The platform currently has more than 35 stores on board from the region such as BabyShop, Amazon, Jumbo, AliExpress, Freshtohome, GAP, Bloomingdales and Firstcry, to name a few.
Uchil got the inspiration from the US automatic coupon site – Honey.
“During the lockdown, some of the e-commerce sites have stopped coupon services due to skyrocketing sales. We are offering a helping hand to buyers to cope with the impact of the pandemic,” he said.
The platform offers discounts between 2% and 30%.
“We believe that every little bit of penny counts and encourage people to take advantage of the always free access,” Uchil said.
People can avail the benefits without registering but Uchil recommends people to register as they are planning to offer cashback offers soon.
“We will be offering cashback after the accumulation of Helwa points and swap it out as vouchers in phase two,” he said.
In phase three, he said that people can add products to their list and get the best prices after comparison.
However, he said the mission is to help people save as much as possible.
“We intend to add more than 300 partners by the end of the year and add airlines, restaurants, hotels and want to cover every category and finally, become the Uber of Middle East for saving money,” he said.
The platform’s initial focus is on UAE but plans to add brands from Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
“Our next agenda is to launch it in Arabic and integrate with international websites. Our final aim is to be one-stop-shop for all your purchases,” he said.
