UAE-based technology company Astra Tech has acquired the popular voice calling platform Botim to develop a super app that would include everything – from instant messaging to digital payments.

The company didn’t give a price for Botim, which it acquired from a consortium of UAE investors, but stated that the app has 90 million registered users and 25 million active users per month.

Calls from services like Skype from Microsoft, WhatsApp from Meta Platforms, and FaceTime from Apple are blocked in the UAE, where 85% of the population is expats. Botim, one of the few apps available to UAE residents that allow phone calls over the internet, has seen an increase in users.

Botim provides free voice and video calls, local and international bill payments, phone recharges, and money transfers within the UAE. Following the acquisition, Astra Tech will enable customers to order meals and groceries, pay bills, access government services, and order services using the app.

“Botim will be the first of its kind in the region to simplify interactions of hundreds of millions of users, allowing them to engage and transact seamlessly,” said Abdallah Abu Sheikh, founder at Astra Tech. 

The agreement was reached just days after Astra Tech, backed by Abu Dhabi’s G42, announced that PayBy, which it had bought in August, had been permitted by the central bank to offer services like payments and money transfers. The business wants to incorporate these services into Botim so customers can buy things online or pay their bills.