About Owna

Built by owners who got tired of paying to sell.

Owna is a UAE marketplace with one stubborn rule: it's free for individual owners, forever. Here's why we're building it — and who we are.

Selling a car you own in the UAE has quietly become a business someone else profits from. Pay to be seen. Pay to stay on top. Take a lowball offer from a dealer who resells your car a week later at full price. Somewhere along the way, the person who actually owns the car — you — became the one everyone charges.

The name is the promise: Owna is for owners. Real people, real cars, no middleman markup.

So we're building the opposite. A place where individual owners list free — no listing fees, no boost charges, no commission — deal directly with real buyers, and keep every dirham. Money comes from dealers who want professional tools, and from optional services that are always clearly marked and never required. It never comes from you.

We're starting with cars in the UAE and staying narrow on purpose. Get one thing right — trust, real listings, a product people actually enjoy using — before going wider. The website is the easy part; real listings and real trust are the business. That's the work.

The people behind Owna

Two founders, one rule: free for owners, forever.

US

Umar Shaikh

Founder & Managing Director

Umar is a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur and content creator who builds products that make everyday life simpler. His path runs across construction, automotive engineering, student leadership, international trade and digital content — different fields that sharpened the same skills: understanding complex systems, leading teams, and turning opportunities into execution.

He's Co-Founder of Skynex DWC LLC, working in international trade and cross-border operations, and founded Owna to strip the unnecessary costs and barriers out of buying and selling cars between individuals. He believes meaningful innovation comes from the courage to question how things have always been done.

SS

Saim Shaikh

Co-Founder

Saim is a computer science graduate of the University of Wollongong in Dubai and a data analyst at Reidin, with a background in data and security consulting. He is also the founder of Project Agahi in Pakistan.

That mix — data, security and a builder's instinct — is exactly what a trust-first marketplace needs: clean information, honest listings, and systems that protect the people using them.

Own a car? List it free.

Join the founding sellers shaping Owna from day one — or let us build your listing for you, free.

List your car free