There’s an app for everything – from hailing a cab to booking a table at a popular restaurant and even paying for a meal. You can plan a meet-up with friends and order food for the gang as you shuffle between digital platforms. But wouldn’t things be more straightforward without the clutter of multiple apps on your smartphone screen?

The desire to do more with fewer apps has ushered in the age of the super-app across the Middle East. Multipurpose Arabic language messenger Tawasal is one such platform.

Other than encrypted messaging and free video and audio calls, Tawasal Superapp also allows users to share profiles via QR codes.

The app, launched across the Middle East, translates messages from any language to Arabic. Users can even create their own smart chatbots for automated responses to work-related texts.

This will be followed by fintech services, which allow users to pay for goods, clear bills, and to transfer money abroad. To ease investment, the app has options to buy and manage cryptocurrencies and stocks.

Features cover weekends to book tables, view menus, and leave a tip for the waiter online. Appointments at spas and salons can also be booked from another mini-app within Tawasal Superapp.

Tawasal also plans to add mini-apps for scrolling through top newspapers in the region and sports updates for major teams and players. Apart from stats, fans can follow live games with text broadcasts.

Recently Mastercard found that affordable phones and lightning-fast internet in the Middle East drive growth for super-apps. Several users skip computers and are introduced to the online world via low-end phones. Having multiple services in one app allows people to make the most of limited storage using less data.

This is why, Uber has diversified from ride-hailing into food delivery, while Careem seeks to offer everything from cabs to cleaning services in one app.

The multi-tasking platform from Tawasal will further add weather and stock market updates, alongside blogs. Users can also store files on a secure cloud through the platform, before setting a password for the app.

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