Ziwo
Dubai, AE · 6 known investors
ZIWO is a cloud contact center (CCaaS) platform built for the Middle East and North Africa, offering voice and WhatsApp channels, API integrations, and AI features such as call analytics, auto-tagging, and smart IVRs, with voice hosting and processing kept within the region for local compliance. Developed by Dubai-based ASWAT, it serves enterprise sales and support teams and is used by companies including Emaar, Tabby, and Deliveroo.
Also known as ASWAT · ASWAT FZ LLC · ZIWO
Founders & leadership
Investors · 6
Also in the syndicate · 4
Company profile
researched Aug 2026ZIWO is a cloud contact center software platform serving businesses in the Middle East and North Africa. It combines cloud telephony, omnichannel messaging and contact center management in a single interface, letting teams handle phone calls, WhatsApp and SMS conversations, deploy virtual phone numbers in more than 150 countries, and connect the system to existing business applications through an API-first architecture and ready-made connectors [5][6][0].
The product set includes call management features such as IVR, predictive dialing, call whispering, call tracking, real-time monitoring and live dashboards, plus data analytics and reporting. Since 2024 the company has offered ZIWO AI, a locally hosted artificial intelligence layer providing call transcription, sentiment analysis, call summaries, automatic tagging, language detection and translation, AI scorecards for quality management, weekly AI-generated performance insight summaries, and an Arabic-speaking AI voice agent that automates routine outbound and inbound calls such as payment reminders, appointment confirmations and lead follow-ups. The AI stack is designed to process Arabic dialects, including Emirati and Saudi variants [4][2][0].
The company positions local telecom infrastructure as its core capability: voice traffic is hosted and processed within the region, the platform is cloud-agnostic and can be hosted in any country, and it holds ISO 27001 certification while advertising uptime above 99.99% and 24/7 local support [6][0].
Founding story
The business began as ASWAT FZ LLC, launched in Dubai Internet City in 2011 as a telecom consulting firm. After building call center software for clients such as Citruss TV and Carrefour and deploying telecom infrastructure to process voice traffic locally across the GCC, the founders launched the ZIWO cloud contact center product. Wamda reports the company as founded in 2010 by Renaud de Gonfreville and Eric Ouisse; the company's own history also names Pierre de Mascarel as a co-founder (Strategy), with de Gonfreville as CEO and Ouisse leading product and expansion strategy [6][5].
Business model
ZIWO sells software-as-a-service cloud contact center and cloud telephony subscriptions to business customers, complemented by virtual phone numbers with instant deployment in over 150 countries and add-on AI capabilities (ZIWO Intelligence, AI voice agent) layered on the core platform [5][6][4].
Recurring SaaS subscription revenue from business customers for cloud contact center software and associated telephony/number provisioning; the company reported roughly $10 million in revenue at the end of 2021 and stated an objective of scaling toward $100 million [5].
Traction
As of the December 2021 announcement, ZIWO reported tripling revenue that year to about $10 million, 50 employees, roughly 180,000 calls processed daily, uptime above 99.99% and an NPS above 50. The company's own history reports growth to 20 employees in 2020, 70 in 2022 and 140 staff from 17 countries at present, with ZIWO AI in use by its largest customers [5][6].
Latest developments
In 2024 the company opened a Morocco office and launched ZIWO AI. Recent product additions include the ZIWO Intelligence dashboard, AI scorecards and an AI scorecard reviewer, smart tags, automated weekly insight summaries, a predictive dialer, and an Arabic-speaking AI voice agent for automating payment reminders, appointment confirmations and lead follow-ups. The company states it was recognised in Deloitte Fast 50 in 2025 [6][2][4][0].
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
The company describes itself as the leading cloud contact center platform in the MENA region and contrasts its regionally hosted, Arabic-capable offering with generic global CCaaS solutions. Its growth has been recognised by the UAE Ministry of Economy's Future 100 list (2023 and 2024) and Deloitte Fast 50 (2023, 2024 and 2025) [6][0].
Regional telecom and infrastructure ownership is presented as the primary competitive advantage: partnerships with local telecom operators and cloud providers for voice quality, local voice hosting and processing for compliance, a cloud-agnostic architecture deployable in any country, support for Arabic language nuances and dialects in both the platform and its AI models, ISO 27001 certification, and 24/7 local support [6][0][4].
Technology
A fully API-based cloud telephony and contact center stack with out-of-the-box CRM integrations, virtual numbers in 150+ countries, IVR and intelligent routing, predictive dialing, real-time monitoring and analytics, workflow and chatbot automation, and WhatsApp/SMS channels. ZIWO AI adds call transcription, sentiment analysis, summarisation, smart tagging, language detection, translation, AI scorecards and an Arabic-capable AI voice agent, with models tuned for Arabic dialects including UAE and KSA, and all data and voice traffic hosted and processed locally [5][4][2][6].
Go-to-market
Direct enterprise and mid-market sales via demo requests from the website, supported by a partner integration ecosystem and regional offices in Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo and Casablanca; the company has stated plans to scale sales and marketing across the Middle East and to enter markets in Africa and South-East Asia [6][5][0].
Businesses across MENA operating customer care and sales teams, spanning e-commerce, retail, food delivery, fintech, real estate, mobility and government-adjacent sectors. Named customers include Carrefour, Talabat, Cafu, Damac, Cars24, Tabby, Sarwa, Yalla Compare, Emaar, ELM, WIO, Deliveroo, Floward and Sumo Sushi & Bento [5][6][0][2].
Geography
Headquartered in Dubai (Dubai Internet City), with offices in Cairo, Riyadh and Casablanca. Services have been launched across the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Egypt and Morocco, with virtual numbers available in more than 150 countries [6][5].
History
ASWAT FZ LLC was launched in Dubai Internet City in 2011. The ZIWO cloud contact center solution was launched in the UAE in 2017, followed by a Bahrain branch in 2018, a Series A round with Wamda and DTEC in 2019 alongside expansion into Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, growth to 20 employees in 2020, launches in Oman and Iraq in 2021, expansion into Qatar and growth to 70 employees in 2022, an Egypt launch from a Cairo office and ISO 27001 certification in 2023, and the opening of a Morocco office together with the launch of ZIWO AI in 2024. In December 2021 the company announced a seven-figure pre-Series B round from existing and new investors [6][5].
Risks & controversies
Operating a regionally hosted voice network requires partnerships with local telecom operators and compliance with country-specific telecom regulations across multiple MENA markets, and the company's stated growth ambition from about $10 million to $100 million in revenue is a substantial scaling target [5][6].
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 13
launches, deals, and filingsLaunch of the company's AI layer for the contact center platform, built for Arabic dialects and hosted locally.
Recognised in the UAE Ministry of Economy's Future 100 list in 2023 and 2024.
UAE-based ZIWO announced a seven-figure pre-Series B investment round from existing investors with participation from new investors; the round was upsized.
The company's timeline records a Series A round raised with Wamda and DTEC.
ZIWO launched its cloud contact center software in the UAE, beginning GCC operations.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Ziwoziwo.io · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Ziwo do?
- ZIWO is a Dubai-based cloud contact center (CCaaS) platform for voice, WhatsApp and SMS customer communication across MENA.
- Who founded Ziwo?
- Ziwo was founded by Renaud de Gonfreville, Eric OUISSE.
- Who are Ziwo's investors?
- Ziwo's investors include Wamda Capital, Dtec Ventures.
- Where is Ziwo headquartered?
- Ziwo is headquartered in Dubai, AE.