Trent University student and local entrepreneur Sultan Moni is taking his food app from Peterborough to the rest of the world. Mr. Moni and his co-founders launched their mobile app, Zatiq, on Android to match restaurant-goers with local meal options. Now, the company has expanded its operations to Nigeria and Pakistan by partnering with Luxér Corp. They are planning on further Canadian expansion, and are in talks with potential businesses in Uganda, Egypt and Michigan.

“It is an exciting time for Zatiq. Our expansion strategy will not only bring in more users and businesses, but also create over twenty jobs in Canada within the next six months,” says Mr. Moni, who is taking a joint major in Computing and Information Systems.

Mr. Moni was a finalist for RBC’s Immigrant of the Year award, landing in the top 75 out of thousands of applications.

Inspired by Trent

Mr. Moni came to Trent as an international student from Abu Dhabi in 2014. He remembers the faculty and students as incredibly supportive.

“Trent introduced me to a community of people and invested in my success, which is essential. In fact, that's 90% of the reason I was able to grow my startup from an idea to an international company today.”

Meal Decision-Making Made Easy

Mr. Moni’s goal is to “use technology to personalize the entire food industry” and “to create products for all stages of the eating-out process.”

With the Zatiq app, users have easy access to their local options and are more likely to choose a meal quickly. Mr. Moni came up with the idea as a solution to the question he asked himself daily: “What should I eat today?” He based many of the app’s features on problems faced by his peers. “Some of my friends have food allergies,” states Mr. Moni, “and some only eat halal. They barely ever go out to eat.” Instead of being a deterrent, these issues served as inspiration.

Giving Back to the Community

The Zatiq team also provides solutions for better food security. Through an exclusive sponsorship contract with Popeye’s Peterborough, Zatiq can deliver free food to marginalized people. “Large quantities of food are wasted by restaurants at the end of every day, which we thought could go towards people in need,” says Mr. Moni.