Why buy when you can rent? Neighbr is the hyperlocal UAE app that allows neighbors to rent items from their community. Not only is it bringing people together, but it’s a sustainable solution, saving thousands of pounds of waste from the landfill.
Natalie Malhas just needed an extra chair. Family members were due soon for a celebration, and in her culture, sitting in a circle, engaging with each other was important – it was about connection and hospitality. Following the loss of her mother, Natalie had recently moved from Jordan to Dubai, eager to build a life in a new city, piece by piece.
But she still needed an extra chair.
She didn’t want to buy one; where would she store it after? “That was the frustration in which I’m like, I need to do something about it because I don’t want to buy them and just abandon them in the end.”
Why, she wondered, couldn’t she just borrow or rent one from her neighbors? And thus, Neighbr was born.
Launched just this year, Neighbr is a hyperlocal rental app for UAE residents. Need to use a drill to hang a set of curtains? Looking for an extra-large stockpot for a special party dish? Just check the app to see if someone in your building has one for rent, rather than buying a new one you’ll only use once.
Overconsumption in the UAE has become a major problem; landfills overflow with clothes, barely-used furniture, and countless appliances. Most people in the UAE generate around 2 kg of waste every day, with almost 77% of that ending up in landfills. Due to the turnover of visiting workers, where residents may only stay in the country for a few years, coupled with a high disposable income, this creates an ecosystem where renters are constantly buying new items and discarding them too easily.
While initiatives are in place to reduce this number through recycling and composting, it’s still crucial to interrogate our lifestyle and develop eco-friendly habits. And choosing to rent or borrow instead of reaching for instant delivery is definitely a big step in the right direction.
Neighbr solves multiple pain points at once: convenience, storage issues, and waste. The camping gear, the drill set, the cookware for entertaining- all of this is piled in laundry rooms and kitchen cupboards in UAE apartments. “This waste might feel invisible, but the raw material and the stuff that is already in their apartments, it’s absolutely there.”
And I mean Neighbr is not trying to be clever about sustainability. But we are giving the choice for the users to make the right choice, the easy choice, the better choice, because we know for a fact that they are going to abandon the item when they leave.
Natalie MalhasSo how does the platform work? Just sign up for the Neighbr web app, and either list items for rent or borrow. Listing the items is completely free: Neighbr only charges a commission once the item has been rented. Simply take a photo of the item (extra chairs, a toolkit, anything) and upload it; the system auto-generates a description and recommends a rental price based on similar prices in your area. That foldable table gathering dust under the bed? Why not have it work for its keep and let your neighbor rent it for their party?
“When people rent from neighbors, it’s because it’s cheaper, faster, and more accessible. However, every transaction that is done on the platform is one item less manufactured, one less item abandoned, and one less item bought new,” Natalie says.
However, sustainability isn’t the core goal for Natalie and the Neighbr team; instead, it’s community. “In Jordan, specifically, when a person is sick, or when a person needs to borrow something, they knock on the door, and they ask for help. So the community is woven into our culture. I’m trying to bring this community aspect into the UAE, and with that, sustainability comes along.”
This is where the ‘hyperlocal’ aspect of the app comes into play. Neighbr doesn’t suggest items to rent across the city, or even a different neighborhood down the road; think even closer to home, in your apartment building, or directly across the street. Driving downtown to pick up a few chairs isn’t the mission here; Natalie is hoping that this app sparks connections, creates friendships, and helps residents build supportive community ties. “In five years I really hope someone would be like, oh, I rented through Neighbr, and I actually met my neighbors who I always see in the elevator but never spoke to.”
In fact, at the moment, there’s no delivery system enabled on the app for items further away, but Natalie says this is intentional. Later, perhaps they’ll partner with a delivery company, but for now, the focus is on truly local solutions. “And I mean Neighbr is not trying to be clever about sustainability,” Natalie says. “But we are giving the choice for the users to make the right choice, the easy choice, the better choice, because we know for a fact that they are going to abandon the item when they leave.”
And Natalie already envisions a dashboard incorporated into the app, showing carbon emissions saved by choosing to rent, rather than buy. “I really want the user to see how every transaction is contributing towards the impact of sustainability.”
