What Cobone does

Cobone (legally ME Digital Group FZ LLC) is a Dubai-headquartered, privately-held deals marketplace that has operated in the Middle East since 2010. The company runs a two-sided e-commerce platform that aggregates discounted experience vouchers from merchants across dining, travel and staycations, spa and beauty, wellness, auto services, activities and attractions, and cruises and tours, primarily in the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Northern Emirates), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam), and Bahrain. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the cobone.com website and native iOS and Android applications, with email newsletters and app-exclusive offers as secondary channels. The platform surfaces 646+ active deals in Dubai alone and has cumulatively sold over 8.2 million vouchers, helping customers save more than AED 1.3 billion since inception.

Cobone's revenue model is a marketplace commission: merchants list experiences at discounted prices (typically 20-70% off), consumers purchase vouchers through the platform, and Cobone retains a transaction-level take rate per voucher sold. Pricing is transaction-based with no subscription tier; deal prices vary from under AED 10 to several hundred AED depending on category and merchant. The company curates merchant inventory into merchandising surfaces such as HOT NOW flash sales, Best Sellers, and New Arrivals to drive urgency and conversion. The platform does not disclose AI/ML capabilities, patents, or proprietary technology beyond standard marketplace functionality, and operates with a headcount of 51-100 employees.

The merchant partner roster includes major international hotel chains (Millennium, Radisson Blu, Hilton, Movenpick, Sofitel, Marriott, Wyndham, Sheraton), entertainment attractions (IMG Worlds of Adventure, Aquaventure, Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Frame), and local services (Desert Falcon Tourism, Posh Beauty Salon, Zain Car Care). Jane Drury serves as Group CEO. No funding rounds, M&A transactions, parent companies, or ownership stakes are disclosed in the available data, and the company appears to operate as a standalone, profitable mature marketplace without external investor backing.

Name

Cobone

Legal name

ME Digital Group FZ LLC

Website

https://cobone.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cobone is a Dubai-based marketplace platform selling discounted experience vouchers for dining, travel, spa, entertainment, and auto services to consumers across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain via website and mobile apps on a commission-based model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Deals & Coupons Marketplace

NAICS

General Merchandise Retailers (455)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Services & Experiences Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Local Tours, Activities & Attractions Metasearch (THALAEAI)

Keywords

• Daily deals marketplace
• Experiences ecommerce
• Voucher deals platform
• Discount vouchers GCC
• Lifestyle deals platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Deal Commission Revenue: Cobone earns commission on each deal voucher sold through the platform. Merchants list experiences and services at discounted rates, and Cobone takes a transaction fee on each sale. Revenue is generated when consumers purchase vouchers from the marketplace.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cobone operates a digital marketplace platform where consumers purchase discounted vouchers for dining, travel, staycations, spa and beauty services, activities, wellness, and automotive services across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. The platform aggregates deals from merchants (hotels, restaurants, attractions, salons) and resells them as vouchers at discounts of up to 70%, earning a commission on each transaction. Consumers access offerings through the cobone.com website and iOS/Android mobile applications.

Product overview

Cobone is a Middle East experiences commerce platform operating as a deals marketplace where consumers can purchase discounted vouchers and coupons for dining, travel, activities, spa/beauty, wellness, and auto services. The platform consists of a web-based marketplace (cobone.com) and mobile applications for iOS and Android, offering deals across 10+ cities in the UAE and KSA. The core product is the deals platform with category-specific sub-sections including Dining, Travel, Activities, Spa & Beauty, Wellness, Auto, and Cruises/Tours, complemented by curated collections like HOT NOW flash sales, Best Sellers, and New Arrivals. The platform also features location-based filtering (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Jeddah, Riyadh, etc.) and brand-specific deal collections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cobone Deals Platform A digital deals and coupons marketplace offering discounted experiences across dining, travel, activities, spa and beauty, wellness, and auto services in the Middle East region.
• Cobone Mobile App A mobile application available on iOS and Android providing app-exclusive deals and offers, featuring QR code-based promotion access.
• Dining Deals Restaurant deals, brunches, buffets, theme nights, and food-related vouchers across multiple cuisines and locations in Dubai and UAE.
• Travel & Staycation Packages Hotel staycation deals, beach resort packages, city breaks, and travel experiences across UAE, KSA, and international destinations.
• Activities & Attractions Tickets and packages for theme parks, water parks, tourist attractions, desert safaris, cruises, and adventure activities.
• Spa & Beauty Deals Spa treatments, salon packages, hair services, manicures, pedicures, and beauty services at various salons and spas.
• Wellness Services Health and wellness deals including dental care, physiotherapy, massage therapy, and fitness gym memberships.
• Auto Services Car detailing, oil changes, AC services, wheel alignment, paint repair, and automotive maintenance services.
• Cruises, Trips & Tours Dhow cruises, city tours, helicopter tours, desert safaris, and organized travel experiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Customers saved over AED 1.3 billion since 2010
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Careem (app): UAE-born super-app offering rides, food delivery, and payments; expanding into lifestyle offers. Comparable in target consumer and region, with superior distribution scale.
• Noon: Middle East generalist e-commerce super-app increasingly bundling deals, vouchers, and travel. Represents platform-style competition for Cobone's consumer attention and merchant relationships.

Direct peers

• The Entertainer: UAE-founded 2-for-1 and discount vouchers app operating across the GCC. Most direct head-to-head competitor with Cobone in the same merchant categories and same Dubai/KSA/Bahrain geography.
• Groupon: Global pioneer of the daily-deals marketplace model serving local experiences, dining, and travel. Closest international analog to Cobone's category, business model, and take-rate structure.

Emerging players

• Klook: Asia-based activities and experiences marketplace increasingly expanding into the Middle East. Comparable on attractions/tours/travel category overlap, though stronger in Asia-Pacific.
• GetYourGuide: Global online marketplace for tours, activities, and attractions with growing UAE/GCC supply. Overlaps directly with Cobone's activities, attractions, and cruises/tours verticals.
• Viator: Tripadvisor-owned marketplace for tours, attractions, and experiences with international tourist focus. Comparable category overlap and voucher-style purchase flow.

Regional players

• MyDays (ME): European-origin experience-deals platform that has expanded into MENA markets. Same daily-deals/short-lived voucher model, though its primary stronghold is DACH.
• SaudiHappens: Saudi Arabia-focused deals and events platform. Comparable offers-based marketplace model focused specifically on KSA, Cobone's second-largest market.

Others

• LivingSocial: Historical direct competitor in the daily deals space that has largely wound down. Useful as a category-bellwether reference for the structural trajectory of the deals model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cobonedeals
• Facebookfacebook.com/133323990035820
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cobone

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cobone