Cobone, A Group Buying Venture From Jabbar Internet Group

Cobone is a new startup that is looking at using the power of group purchasing in order to offer its users the best deals, allowing them to save on the things they want.

Cobone aims to offer online shoppers in the Middle East region one deal everyday from every city’s best hotels, goods, services, meals, spas and more; with savings they say will start at 50%.

Shoppers are encouraged to invite friends, colleagues and family to join in on daily deals so as to increase their own chances of successfully making a purchase. Customers will also be given the flexibility to purchase coupons for themselves or their friends using a selection of online payment options, from credit cards to other options like CashU (another Jabbar company) and PayPal.

Cobone’s model is of course also of benefit to retailers too, as it helps them find new revenue streams and gain greater exposure for their products. The startup is also setting out to embrace new companies and support them by generating buzz for their products online without any setup costs.

According to Paul Kenny, Cobone.com’s founder and CEO, Cobone has already signed deals with the top spas, restaurants and hotel chains in the UAE, where it will be launching its services first.

The company is majority owned by Jabbar Internet Group, the group of regional internet companies that emerged as a leader in the region after the Yahoo! acquisition of Maktoob in 2009.

Cobone is based in Dubai and, as previously mentioned, will be initially launching its service in the UAE, although its plans are to then then aggressively make its way into every major city across the Middle East and North Africa.

Cobone will have to compete with GoNabit in this space, who launched earlier this year, already provide deals for Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, and are preparing their expansion to provide deals in other cities in the region.