Egyptian lifestyle technology startup, Glamera has acquired Bookr Group, a leading multi-market operator in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. A strategic move aimed at deepening its footprint across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and strengthening its position in the rapidly growing beauty and wellness sector.
The acquisition, as believed, will bring together Glamera’s fast-growing consumer booking platform with Bookr’s advanced service-provider management solutions and its booking application, which serves more than 300,000 users across the region.
The deal marks a major milestone in Glamera’s regional growth journey and displays its ambition to evolve into a dominant, technology-driven lifestyle services company in the Middle East, with clear plans for a future stock market listing.
Launched in September 2019, Glamera enables users to conveniently book appointments across a wide range of beauty and wellness services, including salons, clinics, spas, gyms, and dental centers.
The startup has built a strong presence in Egypt, with tens of thousands of users and hundreds of service providers. It has also expanded into Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of its broader MENA growth strategy.
In late 2022, Glamera raised a US$1.3 million seed funding round to support its regional expansion, laying the groundwork for strategic moves such as the acquisition of Bookr Group.
What Do These Companies Do?
At its core, Glamera operates as a lifestyle technology platform that connects consumers with vetted beauty and wellness service providers through a digital booking experience. Users can discover services, schedule appointments, and access a wide range of personal care and wellness offerings in one place.
On the other side of the marketplace, Glamera works with contracted providers, helping them attract customers and manage bookings more efficiently.
Bookr Group, meanwhile, is known for its advanced service-provider management solutions and a booking application that has already achieved significant scale across multiple Gulf markets.
Its platform supports businesses in managing appointments, operations, and customer interactions, while also serving a large and active user base.
By acquiring Bookr, Glamera is effectively combining consumer reach with enterprise-grade operational tools, strengthening both sides of its marketplace.
Why Did Glamera Buy Bookr?
The acquisition of Bookr Group is a deliberate strategic move aligned with Glamera’s ambition to expand rapidly across the GCC without rebuilding infrastructure from scratch.
Bookr’s established presence in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia provides Glamera with immediate access to new markets, a sizeable user base, and proven operational technology.
According to Glamera, the deal forms a central part of its regional expansion strategy, designed to “strengthen its footprint across the GCC, particularly within the fast-growing beauty and wellness sector.”
Rather than pursuing slower, organic expansion alone, Glamera is leveraging acquisition as a growth accelerator, allowing it to scale faster and compete more effectively in highly competitive Gulf markets.
What Does “AI-Powered Unified Platform” Mean?
In practical terms, this means creating a single technology ecosystem where customers can seamlessly discover and book services, while providers can manage operations, bookings, and customer data through intelligent tools.
Glamera plans to build a “unified, AI-powered platform that delivers fully integrated solutions for service providers and end users alike.”
The use of artificial intelligence is expected to improve efficiency across the platform, from smarter scheduling and service recommendations to better operational insights for businesses.
Glamera believes this approach will help it “enhance operational efficiency, expand its market share, and consolidate its position as a category leader in the region.”
What You Need to Know About This Deal
Beyond market expansion, the acquisition represents a turning point in Glamera’s corporate evolution. Speaking on the deal, Mohamed Hassan Hijazi, co-founder and CEO of Glamera, described it as a defining moment for the company’s future direction.
“This acquisition represents a pivotal strategic milestone in Glamera’s expansion across the Middle East,” Hijazi said. “It marks our transition from a fast-growing startup into a mature, powerful regional entity capable of leading the lifestyle services sector with greater efficiency and innovation.”
The deal showcases Glamera’s intent to move beyond early-stage growth into a more structured, scalable, and regionally dominant business model, backed by technology and cross-market integration.
Why This Matters for Glamera
Perhaps most significantly, the acquisition lays the foundation for Glamera’s long-term ambitions in the capital markets.
Hijazi noted that the move “sets a clear pathway toward our upcoming listing in the stock market.”
This suggests that Glamera is positioning itself for public markets by strengthening its scale, operational depth, and regional reach.
In a broader context, the deal highlights the growing maturity of the MENA startup ecosystem, where regional acquisitions are increasingly being used as tools for growth and consolidation.
For Glamera, acquiring Bookr Group is not just about expanding geographically; it is about redefining its role in the lifestyle and wellness economy as a technology-driven regional leader.
As competition intensifies across beauty, wellness, and lifestyle services in the Middle East, from analytical point of view, one can say that Glamera’s acquisition of Bookr may prove to be a decisive step in shaping the next phase of digital consumer services across the region.
Talking Points
Glamera’s acquisition of Bookr Group is a strategically sound move that reflects a growing maturity in the MENA startup ecosystem, where scale and cross-border relevance increasingly determine long-term success.
Rather than pursuing slow, capital-intensive organic expansion in the GCC, Glamera has opted for a faster, more defensible route by absorbing an established operator with a large user base and proven service-provider infrastructure.
This not only strengthens its competitive position in high-value Gulf markets but also reduces execution risk by leveraging Bookr’s existing market knowledge and operational depth.
However, the success of the deal will largely depend on Glamera’s ability to seamlessly integrate Bookr’s technology, teams, and users into a truly unified platform, an often underestimated challenge in acquisitions.
While the promise of an AI-powered, end-to-end lifestyle ecosystem positions Glamera as a potential category leader, the real test will be whether this technological ambition translates into measurable improvements for service providers and a noticeably superior user experience.
Upon effective execution, the acquisition could significantly accelerate Glamera’s path toward regional dominance and support its stated ambition of a future stock market listing. If not, it risks becoming an expensive expansion that delivers scale without meaningful differentiation.
_____________________
Bookmark Techparley.com for the most insightful technology news from the African continent.
Follow us on X/Twitter @Techparleynews, on Facebook at Techparley Africa, on LinkedIn at Techparley Africa, or on Instagram at Techparleynews
