Meet Tarek Tantawy, an Egyptian dreamer who quit his corporate job and started a merchant platform that offers cashback, savings and discounts: Aqua Offers. He tells us about Aqua Offers, how the platform works and his plans on scaling it as well, as his journey through which it was launched.
Ready to learn how to shop and save more?
If you dream it, you’ll make it
Tarek started his career as a student of finance, and has an MBA in finance also. Before starting his own venture, Tarek worked as a CFO, finance manager, stockbroker and team lead for well-known companies like Schlumberger, EFG Hermes, etc. Due to his ability to close deals, he was known as ‘The Dealmaker’ among his colleagues. He explains: “I was able to generate millions of dollars for my employers, then I thought I could take this to the next level and help people make money as well.”
Tarek believes that nobody gets rich by working at a 9 to 5 job, and he’s been contemplating the idea of starting his own business for several years. Then he came up with the idea of starting Aqua Offers, a website that offers discounts on over 300 covering nearly all categories and expanding rapidly including virtual malls, travel, shopping, fashion, children, home and garden etc.. Merchants including big names like Amazon, Souq, AliExpress, H&M, Nike, America Eagle, Noon, Banggood, Gearbest, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Expedia, Nike, Zaful, Lightinthebox, Rosegal, 6th Street and much more…
He says:
I believe in dreaming big. A person who dreams big can achieve their goals and dreams if that person puts enough time and effort into their work.
Cashback, discount and coupons
Mr. Tantawy started developing Aqua Offers’ website in 2019, and the website has been live for almost five months now.
Aqua Offers’ idea is based on customer reclamation where consumers get free discounts, and merchants generate more sales. They also have a strong referral program: if you refer to one of your friends, you get to earn money every time they buy something. He explains:
My business model is a win win for everyone as it helps the merchants’ business grow, and at the same time helps the customer save while making purchases.
Aqua Offers is a global website; which means that you can use the discount coupons anywhere in the world. As for now, Tarek is focusing his efforts on the UAE and Egypt; expansion comes afterwards.
Tarek takes us through the eCommerce scene in the region saying: “In Egypt, I believe that the eCommerce business was worth around 6 billion dollars and in UAE, it was worth around 20 billion dollars. Yet, there’s a gap between the regional and global eCommerce sector.” Tarek also believes that this gap is closing as the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world, where most businesses opted for online shopping experiences, and he suggests that “eCommerce is going to increase rapidly within the next period”.
Related: Preparing for 2021: eCommerce trends that you need to keep an eye on
So, how does Aqua Offers work?
It’s very simple.
When you go to the website aquaoffers.com, you will be able to see several tabs including a tab for stores, a tab for coupons and a tab for some discounts. You sign up for an account using either Facebook, Google or your email. You can then login and start skimming through the stores and the available discount coupons and offers. Say there’s a 10% coupon for one of the retail shops: you get the coupon and press the copy button beside it, which will redirect you to the website of the brand. After choosing the products that you’d like to purchase, you get to use the code and get an instant discount.
As for cashback: you login to your account, browse the website and find your favorite store. While browsing AquaOffers.com, you can get the best Cashback offers. Once you select an it, cashback will automatically show in your wallet once the purchase is confirmed. You can withdraw your cash through Paypal, Fawry, mobile wallets, bank transfers and much more.
You could also watch the video below on how to use the website:
Why build a website?
Aqua Offers’ business model depends on having a fast and reliable website; this is why Tarek chose GoDaddy’s web hosting to build the website. He explains:
I chose GoDaddy because I was looking for a big company to work with and GoDaddy is one of the biggest. I was looking for a safe place and as it turns out, they have great prices.
His advice for small businesses and entrepreneurs who are hesitant to build a website is that the technology nowadays made it much easier than ever. Right now, you can build a website with a few clicks using Website Builder. You can use WordPress and GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Hosting to build your website and add plugins to help you get started easily.
Are you looking for a way to get deals, cashback and discounts? Check Aquaoffers.com and start saving.
