New application for local search engine

‘Brate’ developed with 5index

‘Brate’, a locally developed web directory and business review application, has acquired a Kafalat loan to further develop its business and mobile application. The engine’s name combines the words ‘browse’ and ‘rate’. It allows users to rate search results and locations visited to make future searches more accurate.

Unlike other search engines and directories that focus on results in the ‘businesses’ category, Brate offers the ability to search for products and services suppliers. “This technology allows broader search results,” said Shadi Tabbara, Operations Manager of Brate. For instance, users searching for ‘coffee’ will be able to find the product in retail spaces, not just coffee shops.

The idea was brought by Tabbara, a planning and development expert working in FMCG, and Samih Harfouch, an enterprise software engineer. Brate is developed in collaboration with 5index, a local B2B directory.

Brate has over 6,000 monthly users so far. “Next month we will be launching our web version for mobile phones, which will help users track their destinations using Google maps on their smartphone,” said Tabbara.

The developers have started negotiations with Berytech to explore further growth potential. The company is already located in Cloud 5, the co-working space brought by Solidere in the Beirut Digital District, where it benefits from high-tech facilities.