JadoPado founder resigns from role as chief technology officer at Noon.com

JadoPado was acquired by a tech fund led by Mohamed Alabbar earlier this month

May 23, 2017

The chief technology officer of yet-to-launch e-commerce site Noon.com – backed by Dubai businessman Mohamed Alabbar – has left the company.

Omar Kassim, the founder of UAE online retail platform JadoPado – which was acquired by a tech fund led by Alabbar earlier this month, said he had resigned from his role at Noon.

“I decided to step down from my role at noon. I wish the entire team the very best and hope they go onto building a world class product and organisation,” Kassim said in a brief statement without elaborating.

JadoPado, which was launched in 2011, announced its acquisition earlier this month, saying it was shutting down operations. It did not initially reveal the identity of the buyer, but a spokesperson from Alabbar’s tech fund later confirmed the deal.

It is not certain whether the entire team from JadoPado has been been absorbed into Noon.

“The JadoPado team has been integrated into ongoing projects such as Noon.com and will also be involved in exciting new projects across the digital spectrum in areas such as marketplaces, food commerce, payments and logistics,” said Kassim.

Noon, backed by a $1bn initial investment from Alabbar along with the Saudi Public Investment Fund – a 50 per cent shareholder – was scheduled to launch in January this year, but has faced delays.

Last week, Alabbar confirmed that the site would launch this year and also move its base to Riyadh.

“It is vital that all our systems and processes work at the highest possible level,” he said in a statement.

“Our beta programme has been very insightful, and all the feedback we received from our early customers has allowed us to test and refine our technology and fulfilment model.

“In the past few months, we have onboarded additional expertise to enhance our management team and help execute on our plans,” he added.

However, late last week, Reuters reported that Noon’s CEO Fodhil Benturquia and a “number of staff” had left the company. Sources said the staff had left because of teething problems.

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