The Spark
Two young Kurds — Yadgar Merani and Rekar Botany — sat in a Costa Coffee in Erbil, dreaming about the future. They weren't thinking about food delivery yet. They were thinking about digitizing reality itself. They formed a small company called Fastwares, built games, apps, and software — anything to sharpen their skills and push the boundaries of what was possible in Kurdistan.
The Moment
Yadgar was in London when he saw a Deliveroo rider zip past on a scooter. Something clicked. "I wish we had this back home." He called Rekar from the UK. Rekar was already six hours ahead — working, building, dreaming. Within months, they had a plan: bring food delivery to Kurdistan, but do it better.
The Launch
With just 12 restaurants on board and a single driver — Rekar himself, using his own car — Lezzoo launched in Erbil. The first order was a kebab. The second was pizza. The third was confusion from the restaurant owner who'd never seen an app request before. Within weeks, orders were scaling faster than they could hire.
Y Combinator Says Yes
Yadgar was 23 years old, alone in San Francisco. His co-founders couldn't get visas. Every pitch went the same way: "Where are you from?" "Iraq." Silence. Polite rejection. Then he met with Y Combinator. They didn't care where Lezzoo was from — they cared that it was working. Lezzoo became the first and only Iraqi startup to ever graduate from YC.
The Pivot
COVID-19 hit Iraq hard. Lockdowns shut restaurants. Daily orders collapsed from 1,100 to zero overnight. Instead of folding, Lezzoo pivoted to essentials: groceries, pharmacy, water delivery. Within weeks, Lezzoo became Kurdistan's lifeline — bringing food and medicine to a population that couldn't leave their homes. The pivot saved the company and transformed it into something bigger.
Going B2B
Lezzoo launched Saydo — a B2B marketplace connecting suppliers directly to retailers. Partnerships with the World Food Program and major FMCG distributors. Lezzoo wasn't just delivering meals anymore; it was digitizing Iraq's entire food supply chain.
The Super App
Lezzoo Trivia launched and tripled monthly active users across all of Iraq. Revenue surged 56% year-over-year. The team realized Lezzoo wasn't just a delivery app — it was becoming the operating system for daily life in Kurdistan. Gaming, social, commerce — all in one app.
Today and Beyond
Scrolls. Jiran. Xomali AI. Friendz. 1M+ customers. 2,500+ vendors. 3,000+ team network. $200M+ GMV. 50+ in-app games. From a coffee shop in Erbil to a multi-category super app powering Iraq's digital future. And we're just getting started.
The story continues.
We came from Erbil. We built for Iraq. Now we're writing the future of commerce, connection, and creativity in the Middle East.
Bringing you time back.
Food. Groceries. Games. Social. AI. Payment. And so much more.