Krews, Hub71 startup, joins forces with ADEC to digitise leisure and entertainment experiences in the capital 

In a major boost to the sports and entertainment sector in Abu Dhabi, Krews, a Hub71 startup, secured an agreement with Abu Dhabi Entertainment Company (ADEC) to digitise the operations of Zayed Sports City and ACTIVE Al Maryah through its integrated platform QPortal. The agreement will bring a host of benefits to both customers and the venue, streamlining activities, improving the customer booking journey, and enhancing operational efficiency.

Founded by Emirati brothers Ahmed and Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Krews’ QPortal is transforming the sports and entertainment sector by providing venues with extensive enterprise solutions that enable them to efficiently create, manage, monitor and analyse operations at the fraction of the cost. By connecting assets across the entire operational ecosystem and streamlining activities, the portal enhances the customer booking journey with speed and agility. The partnership reinforces Krews' mission to disrupt and accelerate the digital transformation of the sports and entertainment industry in Abu Dhabi and make impactful change in the region.

Built in-house by a team of local experts, the turnkey system enables a seamless customer journey, and is helping entities optimise operations to unlock revenue opportunities and increase sales. The portal offers an entirely automated and flexible process, allowing venue operators to easily manage and update the system.

Since implementing Krews’ tech solutions earlier this year, ADEC has processed over 17,000 bookings for its venues including all sports facilities in Zayed Sports City and Active, derived from all sales channels including website, mobile app, and telesales. 

Ahmed Alqubaisi, Founder and CEO of Krews said: “One of the greatest benefits in digitising sports venues is seamless and real-time bookings. Previously, customers had to go through the traditional process of making enquiries and waiting for their bookings to be confirmed, resulting in revenue loss for institutions and customer dissatisfaction. Krews identified this gap in the market, and since then we have been on a mission to revolutionise the sports and entertainment industry across the entire value chain. By allowing users to easily plan, organise and book social and sports activities and enabling world-class venues such as in Abu Dhabi, to optimise their operations, we are contributing to healthier, more active and social societies.” 

Khalid Al Mutawa, Acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Entertainment Company said: “Previously, our operations required the use of several systems to manage different aspects of our facility operations. The QPortal has consolidated these into a single platform, and we are now able to capture more robust data with less effort.”

He added: ‘’We are glad to be working with a locally founded business and have developed a strong relationship with Ahmed and the team. They have been flexible in ensuring the system meets the complex and varied demands of our business, and is responsive to our requirements.”

Krews joined the Hub71 community in 2019, benefitting from a strong network of government entities, corporates, investors, and leading industry partners to unlock access to capital, market opportunities and talent. 

Earlier this year, Krews also launched its one-of-a-kind app that offers interactive experiences for users, allowing like-minded individuals with the same interests and hobbies to connect with one another, book sports venues and pay with one click.