‘We’re ahead of our $600m target’: QBS CEO talks EMT buyout and META expansion

“We’re bridging the gap in the Middle East and North Africa,” Dave Stevinson tells CRN

QBS Software has acquired Dubai-based VAD Emerging Market Technology (EMT) to propel its vendors’ technologies into new territories.

The transaction gives QBS an on-the-ground presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and formalises the company’s investment-backed expansion into Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, which in addition to these markets includes Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.

The newly acquired firm also has in-country teams in different African countries.

In an interview with CRN, Dave Stevinson, CEO of QBS Software, explains that this move strengthens QBS’ position in META, as it was already “dominant in the South African region and Turkey.”

In 2024, the British VAD completed the back-to-back acquisitions of South African Maxtec and Titus.

In 2023, it bought out cybersecurity distributor InfoNet, before returning to the country in March 2025 to invest in enterprise software distributor Elmer Yazılım.

The purchase of Prianto in January also added the distributor’s Turkish and South African arms to QBS’ roster.

“Now we’re bridging the gap in the Middle East and North Africa, which gives us excellent coverage of the complete META region,” says the CEO.

Stevinson tells CRN that the company also has a strong presence in Cairo and in half of North Africa.

When it comes to further acquisitions in the region, he explains that the organisation “may consider a few bolt-ons” to fit with its long-term strategy.

“We’re looking decades ahead,” says Stevinson.

“That’s why we want to be in these major markets, not just in the maturing Western markets; we’re investing in the future.”

This Middle East expansion also brings “just under 50 people” to QBS’ headcount.

While the acquisition brings an undisclosed amount of revenue to QBS, the CEO explains that his company is “already ahead” of its previously targeted $600m (£437.14m) in revenue, and is now marching toward the $1bn ARR benchmark.

EMT will be rebranded to QBS by February 2026 as the organisation applies “a very strict integration policy” to streamline communications with vendors.

This announcement comes just four weeks after QBS announced it was pursuing “aggressive growth” in META to reach $150m revenue.