RIYADH: The appetite for food delivery in the Middle East and North Africa region has continued to grow in 2022 after the pandemic kick-started demand for the services in the region, according to a new report.

According to data in ‘Digital Transformation in MENA 2022’, produced by cloud-based payments platform Checkout.com, over half  — 53 percent — of MENA consumers purchased food online in the past year, with 42 percent consumers saying they are buying food online more frequently this year than in 2021. 

The online food ordering sector has numerous moving parts that need to come together in each transaction, from the restaurants to drivers and aggregators to payment providers. Close collaboration is therefore vital for the many stakeholders, noted Ramzi Alqrainy, chief technology officer at The Chefz, a leading Saudi-based food delivery app. 

“Collaboration allows us to innovate effectively and to reach and serve society in its most inclusive sense. These days, one provider doesn’t need to manage all aspects of a consumer experience from A to Z. We all need to work together. This is the death of ownership,” said Alqrainy. 

The findings fit the trend of the region increasingly embracing digital technology.

Data from the report shows that 91 percent of consumers across MENA bought products online in the past year, with fashion and clothing making up 46 percent of all online purchases in the region. A fifth of consumers across the region purchased retail products online more frequently than last year, with 33 percent shopping more often for fashion and clothing online.  

Paul Carey, executive vice president of Cards & Payments at Al-Futtaim Group said the figures point to a rapidly developing digital ecosystem that allows government agencies, established companies and start-ups to flourish.

“This is particularly evident in payments, where governments have set up regulatory sandbox infrastructure and made it easier for businesses in the region with more flexible visa options and commercial licensing,” he added. 

The survey shows that remittance apps remain the most widely utilized form of fintech in MENA, but as other products increase, so does adoption. 

The report found that 82 percent of consumers in MENA use some form of fintech app in 2022, up from 76 percent in 2021. 

Innovation has been underpinned by solutions such as Visa’s Account Funding Transactions which pull funds from an account and for use on a prepaid card, top up a wallet, or fund a person-to-person money transfer. 

“The secure, reliable, and fast movement of digital money between individuals, businesses and governments is the engine powering today’s global economy”, said Saeeda Jaffar, senior vice President and group country manager for the Gulf Cooperation Council region at Visa.

The findings come from the second phase of Checkout.com’s Digital Transformation in MENA 2022 report. 

Part one, which was released in October, included insights from 15,000 consumers in the region, while the latest publication contains interviews with business leaders in the digital economy.