Featured SME
Highway Café
July 15, 2025
Highway Café Journey: Highway Café was born from a simple idea: to serve great coffee, fast, and with care. Since launching Muscat, the brand has remained true to its mission, evolving in tandem with its customers and utilising only premium ingredients.
Origin and Challenges: Before discovering Beehive, Highway Café struggled to secure the funding needed to expand. Despite a strong brand foundation, limited access to finance made it challenging to grow without compromising daily operations.
Expansion Plans: Over the next 12 months, the Highway Café plans to expand both locally and regionally, with new branches in Oman and three additional locations in Dubai. The company is also investing in digital innovation and diversifying its menu to better reflect the local tastes of the GCC region.
Beehive Funding Success: Beehive supported them to move forward confidently, without disrupting their operations. The funding enabled them to open new branches and upgrade key equipment.
About Highway Café
Highway Café is a modern café and restaurant concept that offers a distinctive experience blending youthful vibes with local flavour. They serve a wide variety of hot and cold beverages, as well as fast food dishes, focusing on high-quality, quick service, and exceptional hospitality, all at competitive prices.
Find out more about Highway Café
Q&A with Effat Abdalla
General Manager, Highway Café
How did the company start?
Highway Café was founded on a passion to create a unique café experience, one that prioritizes customer comfort, speed of service, and attention to detail. Our first branch opened in Muscat, and since day one, we’ve been committed to using top-quality ingredients, delivering standout interior design, and building strong, direct relationships with our customers. We continuously work to understand their needs and evolve our brand accordingly.
From all the challenges that a new business could encounter, what would you list as the top three?
The top three challenges for Highway Café were:
- Reaching the target audience effectively is especially challenging, especially with the high level of competition in the food and beverage industry.
- Managing operational costs while maintaining high service and product quality.
- Building a committed, professional team capable of executing the brand vision.
What are your business plans for the next 12 months?
We have an ambitious expansion strategy. Within Oman, we aim to open new branches in strategic locations. Regionally, we plan to launch three branches in the UAE, specifically in Dubai, over the coming year. We’re also developing our own branded mobile app and enhancing our delivery services. Additionally, we’re diversifying our menu to introduce new items that cater to local tastes across the GCC.
What advice would you provide to someone who is considering turning their passion into a business idea?
Start small but plan big. Let your passion drive you, but don’t neglect financial planning or market understanding. Stay flexible and always be open to feedback; it’s key to continuous improvement.
About the funding: Highway Café’s experience with Beehive
How did you find Beehive?
We came across Beehive while looking for flexible funding solutions to support SME growth. Their innovative approach caught our attention, and we were impressed by how quickly and professionally they responded to our inquiry.
What was it like before you used Beehive?
Before Beehive, we faced challenges financing our expansion. Thanks to their support, we were able to move forward confidently, without disrupting our day-to-day operations. Their funding helped us open new branches and upgrade key equipment.
Why did you choose Beehive for funding? What features contributed to your decision to use Beehive?
The process was simple, transparent, and fast. Beehive’s digital platform provided us with the flexibility we needed, and compared to traditional banking options, it offered a significantly more agile and supportive experience.
How did you find the process? How did it compare to other options, such as bank loans?
Most other financing options require complex guarantees and lengthy approvals. Our experience with Beehive was far smoother, with ongoing, direct support throughout the process.
What advice would you give to business owners considering funding? Would you recommend Beehive to other businesses seeking finance?
Don’t just think of funding as a solution to cover shortfalls; use it as a tool to drive real, long-term growth. We strongly recommend working with Beehive, given their credibility and professional approach.
Any other comments?
We want to thank the Beehive team for their ongoing support. Innovative partnerships between entrepreneurs and financial platforms, such as Beehive, are essential building blocks for a diverse and sustainable economy in the region.
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