Top 100: Mohamad Ballout, Co-Founder and CEO, Kitopi The 100: A Definite Guide to Success
By Entrepreneur Middle East Staff Edited by Tamara Pupic
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Mohamad Ballout is the co-founder and CEO of Kitopi, the world's leading tech-powered, multi-brand restaurant. Established in Dubai in January 2018, Kitopi quickly made a name for itself through its innovative approach to the food and beverage industry. One of its most notable achievements was the acquisition of AWJ, a prominent F&B group behind some of the Middle East's most popular dine-in brands, including Operation Falafel, Catch 22, Awani, and SushiDo. This acquisition, one of the largest in the region's F&B sector, is part of a series of 18 acquisitions that Kitopi has executed in recent years.
Since its inception as a cloud kitchen in Dubai, Kitopi has experienced exponential growth. The company now operates over 100 brands with a workforce of more than 5,000 employees across 200 locations in five markets: KSA, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. Additionally, Kitopi boasts an engineering hub in Krakow, Poland, a global customer experience center in Dubai, and a robotics hub in Odense, Denmark. In 2021, Kitopi became the first UAE-headquartered company to receive funding from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, securing unicorn status.
Ballout emphasizes the importance of strategic integration during acquisitions. "With smaller acquisitions, you can integrate teams much faster," he explains. "However, for a business the size of AWJ, which is rapidly growing, maintaining its independence allows it to continue moving fast."
Reflecting on Kitopi's journey, Ballout highlights a key leadership lesson: "Change can be a catalyst for growth if managed with empathy, clear communication, and inclusivity. Merging two cultures doesn't mean erasing one to fit the other; it's about combining the strengths of both to create a stronger, more vibrant, and inclusive organizational culture that everyone is proud of."
Through his vision and leadership, Ballout has positioned Kitopi as a trailblazer in the F&B industry, redefining how technology and culinary innovation intersect.
