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Saudi Arabia vows commitment to provide support to host World Expo, ensure its success
08 Mar 2023 Written by Admin AdminThe first workshop was organized with the presence of Fahd Al-Rasheed, CEO of Royal Commission for Riyadh City and members of the BIE’s visiting delegation as well as a number of representatives of concerned agencies.
A delegation from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission has held the first workshop to assess the Kingdom’s bid for hosting the World Expo 2030 in Riyadh as part of the BIE’s procedures to select the hosting country.
The first workshop was organized with the presence of Fahd Al-Rasheed, CEO of Royal Commission for Riyadh City and members of the BIE’s visiting delegation as well as a number of representatives of concerned agencies.
The workshop discussed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030 bid and the added value of hosting the high-profile global exhibition in Riyadh.
During the workshop, Al-Rasheed explained that Riyadh has the potential to host an exceptional version of the World Expo thanks to the special care and attention of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.
He also pointed out that Riyadh has hosted large international events before and has won international recognition in this filed.
The delegation has also met with Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan and reviewed the details related to the Kingdom’s commitment to financial support the exhibition.
The minister has voiced the Kingdom’s commitment to put in place all necessary preparations to finance and host the World Expo, including providing basic and operational expenditures.
Al-Jadaan added that the economic and financial reforms the Kingdom has witnessed as per the Saudi Vision 2030 have led to pushing and accelerating the growth rate, adding that the World Expo falls within the Kingdom’s initiatives which will contribute to creating various economic opportunities and achieving revenues to several sectors in Riyadh.
source: Zawya
Aion Digital raises $5 million bridge round led by Fintactics Ventures
11 Feb 2023 Written by Admin AdminBahrain-based fintech Aion Digital has raised $5 million in a bridge round led by Fintactics Ventures, a $40 million fintech-focused fund.
Founded in 2017, Aion provides an API-based digital banking platform, enabling its clients to create personalised digital products to increase customer engagement. The platform offers three primary products including digital onboarding, retail digital bank and corporate digital bank.
The company has recently opened offices in Saudi Arabia, and plans to expand its presence on the back of the recently raised funds.
Fintactics Ventures was launched during the Leap 2023 conference currently taking place in Riyadh and is backed by venture studio Revival Labs.
Press release
Aion Digital has raised USD 5 million in a bridge funding round led by Fintactics Ventures, a fintech-focused Venture Builder backed by a $40 million venture capital fund.
The announcement took place at LEAP 2023, a four-day technology convention held in Riyadh. The growth capital is to accelerate the technology transfer of digital banking infrastructure to Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom has a strong ecosystem of more than 300 fintech in addition to existing banks, new digital banks, and other corporate brands entering the financial services space. Aion API technology makes it exceptionally simple and quicker for them to launch their digital businesses.
In collaboration with Fintactics, Aion technology will decisively strengthen Kingdom’s competitive position in the global digital economy.
Aion is the leading digital banking platform in GCC. It offers 500 banking APIs that make it simple and quick to launch digital solutions. Aion platform is used by leading banks and fintech to accelerate their time-to-revenue while minimising the cost to launch.
Leading financial institutions such as Kuwait Finance House, Boubyan Bank, Jazeel Bahrain, and SIMAH leverage Aion APIs to offer digital solutions to their clients.
Aion is also building strategic new ventures in the open banking and regulatory tech space in the GCC. The company recently announced opening its headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fintactics is a Saudi-based venture builder and venture capital specialising in fintech, insuretech and regtech nurturing rapid growth in start-ups locally and regionally.
Launched by Revival Lab, Fintactics is backed by a fintech-dedicated $40 million venture capital fund.
source: Wamda
Saudi PIF’s second green bond sale of $5.5bln oversubscribed more than 6 times
11 Feb 2023 Written by Admin AdminSaudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) said its latest green bond issuance, which raised $5.5 billion was oversubscribed more than six times with books exceeding $33 billion.
It was issued in three tranches, comprising of $1.75 billion with seven-year tenure, $2 billion with 12-year tenure and $1.75 billion with a 30-year tenure, PIF said in a statement on Friday.
The sovereign wealth fund did not disclose the pricing of the bonds. Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that the seven-year paper was priced at 115 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries (UST), the 12-year at 145 bps over UST and the 30-year bonds at 185 bps over UST.
The bond was sold to a wide range of institutional investors globally, including Asia, PIF said.
Fahad AlSaif, Head of Global Capital Finance Division at PIF, said: "Strong demand from international institutional investors for this second issuance is a testament to the ongoing success of PIF’s capital raising strategy, its credit profile and financial strength.”
source: Zawya
Egyptian financial services provider MNT-Halan valued at $1B in $400M funding
01 Feb 2023 Written by Admin AdminEgyptian fintech and e-commerce ecosystem MNT-Halan has raised up to $400 million in equity and debt financing from local and global investors as it continues to serve underbanked and unbanked customers in the North African country.
The round includes $260 million in equity financing and $140 million through two securitized bond issuances secured within the past year, investments that will now see MNT-Halan command a post-money valuation of about $1 billion.
A large chunk of the equity, about $200 million, was provided by Abu Dhabi–based Chimera Investments. The investment firm invested that amount in exchange for 20% of the Egyptian digital lender and e-commerce platform, which is also in advanced stages of raising $60 million in additional capital in the coming weeks.
Last week, the IFC disclosed that it was investing $40 million in the company, but MNT-Halan declined to comment; it’s expected that the remaining financing will come from existing shareholders.
In a statement, MNT-Halan says the investments “demonstrate continued confidence in its value proposition, management team, and superior technology.” The company also plans to expand internationally after solid growth in Egypt and progress on the swap agreement between super app Halan and Netherlands-based microlending platform MNT Investments.
In 2021, Halan, operating a digital wallet that offered bill payments, e-commerce and ride-hailing as well as micro, nano and consumer loans, entered into a swap agreement with MNT Investments (a microlending platform operating in Egypt with roots dating back to 2010) to provide financing solutions to the underbanked and unbanked. The leveraged buyout deal, which was formed in 2018, saw both companies adopt a new name: MNT-Halan. Headquartered in Egypt, its digital ecosystem connects consumers, merchants and micro-enterprises with business loans, consumer finance, payments, BNPL and e-commerce offerings, all backed by Neuron, its proprietary technology.
Last year, MNT-Halan raised $120 million from private equity firms, including Apis Growth Fund II, Development Partners International (DPI) and Lorax Capital Partners, and venture capitalists such as Middle East Venture Partners, Endeavor Catalyst and DisruptTech. At the time, it had served over 4 million and disbursed more than $1.7 billion worth of loans since inception.
CEO Mounir Nakhla, who founded the company with Ahmed Mohsen, said MNT-Halan continued where it left off and is presently Egypt’s largest lender to the unbanked: Total loans disbursed now exceed $2 billion per the company’s website (MNT-Halan issued loans north of $65 million last month).
On average, businesses access $1,000 worth of loans while paying a 25% annual interest on the platform; Nakhla noted the fintech maintains a healthy nonperforming loan ratio without disclosing its figure.
The two securitizations, totaling $140 million, that MNT-Halan secured last year are behind its impressive lending operations. The fintech’s wholly owned subsidiary, Tasaheel, managed to secure these funds locally via a securitization program with the Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s largest private sector bank.
It can further securitize up to $250 million, the company said. In addition to CIB, participating regional and local financial institutions include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Al Baraka Bank and National Bank of Egypt.
It’s been demonstrated that lending is MNT-Halan’s primary business and main revenue generator; however, what’s interesting about the company is how it has layered a digital ecosystem of products, including e-commerce, FMCG delivery and mobile POS payments that feed its lending operations.
To paint a picture: Last June, the five-year-old company acquired Talabeyah, a B2B e-commerce platform that offers FMCG supplies directly to small merchants and retailers with next-day delivery. Nakhla tells me that this acquisition has allowed MNT-Halan to provide loans to these merchants or grocers, who then, in an agency banking play, act as mobile agents to individual customers who frequent their shops.
The company also wants to extend grocery shopping — in addition to other e-commerce stores selling electronics and personal items — to individual customers.
“We’re capitalizing on our existing distribution through million-plus customers and adding services within our ecosystem,” said the chief executive. “If you need a loan for your business, we’re going to give you one; you need a loan for consumption, we’re going to give you one; you need to order groceries or buy a mobile phone on our platform, we’ll deliver it to you via our e-commerce stores. Also, we can give them the credit they can use to make all of these purchases within the ecosystem.”
MNT-Halan lends to single small business owners or individuals who need lending to manage their businesses.
According to the Egyptian startup, its digital ecosystem serves more than 5 million customers in Egypt, of which 3.5 million are financial clients and over 2 million are borrowers. The startup plans to launch a debit card for its customers by the end of March.
Nakhla noted that due to the company’s focus on commerce and lending, it’s had to shut down its ride-hailing operations, one of Halan’s core offerings — before the merger — which mostly lagged international mobility outfits like Uber, Careem and inDriver. Meanwhile, MNT-Halan faces competition from Khazna, Paymob and MaxAB across its other product offerings.
“In some sectors, we do have competition. But in the most important sector, we’re the largest, and no one is as advanced in technology or creates a fully-fledged ecosystem for the underbanked.
I think this is where we differentiate ourselves from any other player in the market,” said the chief executive when asked about competing players in Egypt, while adding that the company is exploring a couple of mergers and acquisitions to consolidate its position in the country’s fintech and e-commerce space.
For MNT-Halan to raise this sum in the current venture capital climate, it had to increase its revenues and open new streams, Nakhla noted in his statement. The fintech claims to have made over $300 million in revenue last year, representing a modest 3.4x multiples on its unicorn valuation which aligns with the present public market calculations as previously reported by TechCrunch.
On a related note, MNT-Halan is Egypt’s only private billion-dollar company; payments giant Fawry achieved that valuation after going public in 2019 (although it’s well off the mark now).
“We are thrilled to be part of Egypt’s greatest fintech success story,” said Seif Fikry, CEO of Chimera Abu Dhabi, in a statement. MNT-Halan’s upward trajectory and momentum reflect the management team’s realization of its extraordinary vision to transform a high-touch business by seamlessly infusing an unparalleled proprietary tech platform while increasing product depth for its target customer segment.”
Source: Techcrunch
Star-Studded LEAP23 Offers US$1.54 Million Prize Pool in Startup Pitch Challenge and Cloud Hackathon
01 Feb 2023 Written by Admin AdminLEAP23, the world’s most visionary and valuable technology event, will host two competitions with a prize purse of US$1.54 million, as well as a welcome a raft of global celebrities and tech industry luminaries ranging from music icon will.i.am and FIFA World Cup winner Carles Puyol to Amin H Nassr, CEO of Aramco, and Jae Sook Evans, Chief Information Officer at Oracle.
LEAP23 is set to run from February 6-9 at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Centre and will be the setting for the inaugural LEAP Rocket Fuel Startup Pitch Challenge, powered by Saudi Arabia’s National Technology Development Programme (NTDP). The initiative is a collaboration between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the MiSK Foundation, and NTDP.
Ninety global startups will fight for the chance to be one of the 15 nascent businesses selected to pitch before a judging panel consisting of Shark Tank India’s Ghazal Alagh, Baroness Karren Brady, aide to The Apprentice’s Alan Sugar, Saudi angel investor Tala Al Jabri, and Dragon’s Den stars James Caan and Steven Bartlett.
The judges will present the LEAP Award and its accompanying US$250,000 main prize to the outstanding startup, while US$150,000 will go to the best early stage startup, the most innovative startup pioneered by women, the new business that best embodies the LEAP spirit, the most impressive startup occupying the Metaverse and Web 3.0, and the pitch that represents the most exciting, ground-breaking use of Artificial Intelligence.
On the show’s final day, LEAP23 will also host the winners’ ceremony of the ongoing Alibaba Cloud Saudi Hackathon, which comes with its own prize pool of US$532,000. Organisers said the response to the four-day hackathon, which started on January 29, was huge.
The winning solutions and ideas implementors – those that have made the best use of Alibaba Cloud technology to facilitate deployment, development, scalability, and fast go-to market solutions – will be presented with their awards on February 9.
LEAP23 is set to welcome 920 scheduled investors, including Sequoia Capital, Octopus Ventures, 500 Global and many more. Between them, they control an unprecedented US$1.9 trillion in assets under management. And with more than 5,000 potential meetings bookmarked, the four-day show promises to be the event where decisions are made and deals get done.
As well as pop superstar will.i.am and former Barcelona and Spain legend Puyol – both now entrepreneurs within the Metaverse – the latest batch of tech heavyweights and international celebrities set to speak at LEAP23 include Séan Garnier, CEO of Urbanball and world freestyle football champion, Gary Sorrentino, Global Chief Information Officer at Zoom, Helen K Pan, General Manager at Apollo Autonomous Driving – Baidu, Jim Deluca, CEO of Ceer, Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO at e& Group (formerly Etisalat), and a host of other C-suite thought-leaders from major global technology companies.
LEAP23’s newly released roster of tech talent also highlights the Saudi convention’s ability to connect East and West, with Selina Zhang, President of Alibaba Cloud, and Wu Eddie Yongming, Co-founder of Alibaba Group confirmed alongside Sheikh Talal Said Marhoon Al Mamari, CEO at Omantel, Saleem AlBlooshi, CTO at Du, Sheikh Bader bin Rashid Al Khalifa, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer at Batelco, and Charles Li, ex-CEO of Hong Kong Exchange and Chairman of Micro Connect.
In connecting the most influential players from the East and West, LEAP23 will be the stage for announcing strategic alignments and large-scale business deals that will impact the tech community globally.
Last year, more than US$6 billion worth of investments were announced and organisers are confident this year, with an increase in investors, exhibitors, and attendees from around the world, will surpass that figure.
With more than 900 exhibitors confirmed for this year’s second iteration, LEAP23 will host more than 700 speakers, including billionaire investors, astronauts, and athletes-turned-tech investors across its 15 conferences. A host of Saudi Arabian heavyweights such as STC and NEOM will be accompanied by an international cadre of the biggest names in tech, such as Snapchat, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Visa, Alibaba Cloud, Ericsson, Huawei, and Nokia.
Taking place alongside LEAP23 is the inaugural DeepFest, which will explore the global AI eco-system and showcase life-changing, multi-sector initiatives and innovations related to clean tech, the Metaverse, and women in technology. LEAP23 has garnered support from numerous leading government and private sector organisations.
Strategic partners and sponsors include NEOM, STC, Saudi Aramco, Mobily, IBM, Microsoft, Ericsson, Huawei, and Najm Insurance. The 2023 edition will also host country pavilions from the United Kingdom, Finland, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Oman, and India.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is powering LEAP in conjunction with Tahaluf – a strategic joint venture co-owned by Informa PLC and the SAFCSP.
Source: African Business
Saudi to drive innovation with World Economic Forum accelerator deal
16 Jan 2023 Written by Admin AdminA new accelerator programme set up by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) aims to support efforts to drive innovation in the kingdom.
Based on the new programme, the state-backed KACST will work with WEF to “connect experts and knowledge partners from the public and private sector to identify and unlock new promising markets as part of the ongoing work to transform Saudi’s economy”, according to a statement.
Saudi Arabia has plans to build a virtual “house” in the village, thus opening a door to opportunities, investment and collaboration among national stakeholders and international entities. It will host events and other activities that promote interaction and knowledge sharing.
Early this year, WEF announced plans to set up the Global Collaboration Village to promote public-private cooperation and tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.
source: Zaway
Tabby raises $58 million Series C from Sequoia Capital India, STV and PayPal Ventures
18 Jan 2023 Written by Admin AdminUAE-based fintech Tabby, has raised $58 million in a Series C round from Sequoia Capital India, STV and PayPal Ventures, Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst, valuing the company at $660 million. The round also marks PayPal’s Ventures first investment in a GCC startup.
Founded in 2019 by Hosam Arab, Tabby is a fintech startup that offers users a buy now pay later (BNPL) facility for shopping online and offline.
The fintech works with over 10,000 brands including 9 out of the 10 largest retail groups in Mena. Last year, Tabby crossed three million active shoppers, expanded its operations to Egypt and grew 5x in revenue over the previous year.
The company has issued over 150,000 Tabby Cards, allowing users to purchase goods in-store and paying for them in instalments. In-store sales now make up over 10 per cent of the Tabby’s volumes.
Tabby will use the new funding to expand its product line into next-generation consumer financial services and support the company’s growing operations. This latest round takes the company’s total funding to date to $333 million.
Tabby, MENA’s leading shopping and financial services app, has raised $58 million from Sequoia Capital India, STV and PayPal Ventures, Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst in a Series C round which values the company at $660 million. The fundraise will be used to expand Tabby’s product line into next-gen consumer financial services and support the company’s growing operations. This round makes Tabby one of the most valuable startups in Mena and the first in the GCC to receive funding from PayPal Ventures.
Hosam Arab, CEO and co-founder of Tabby, said: "With rising interest rates and growing inflation, it has never been more important for people to have access to payment flexibility to stay in control of their finances. Despite downward pressure on fintech valuations, our business continues to sustainably scale as we lead the generational shift towards fair and transparent financial products in Mena.”
He added: “We’re excited to grow with an incredible set of investors who believe in the opportunity to create a healthier relationship with money for consumers in a region that’s ripe for change.”
The company works with over 10,000 brands including 9 out of the 10 largest retail groups in Mena, and more recently launched with noon, the region’s largest e-commerce marketplace. Last year, Tabby crossed three million active shoppers, expanded its operations to Egypt and grew 5x in revenue over the previous year.
GV Ravishankar, MD, Sequoia India, said: "We are excited to see Tabby grow into a leading consumer focused fintech company for the region. Over the next few years, it has the opportunity to offer several innovative products to its consumers to improve access while creating more affordability. The team has done this with continued focus on good credit quality and strong economics.”
Ihsan Jawad, Partner at STV said: “We are pleased to be doubling-down on our partnership with Hosam, Daniil and the team on their growth journey across the region.”
Among its other milestones, the fintech company has issued over 150,000 Tabby Cards only six months after launching its cards programme with in-store sales now making up over 10 per cent of the company’s volumes.
source Wamda
Egypt’s GBarena acquires Tunisia’s Galactech in a $15 million share swap deal
15 Jan 2023 Written by Admin AdminEgypt-based esports platform GBarena has acquired Tunisia’s Galactech for $15 million, in the form of a share swap.
This acquisition supports GBArena’s plans to expand into the GCC, including Saudi Arabia, with further expansion plans in the Middle Eastern esports industry. GBarena will leverage the on-ground presence and capabilities that Galactech has in Riyadh, Dubai, and Tunisia.
Founded in 2016 by Mustafa Zaza and Bishoy Mesdary, GBarena aims to create an online gaming community connecting gamers with tournament organisers and providing them with a platform where they can manage their tournaments through fully automated processes, while Galactech was founded in 2019 by Houcem Maiza and Houssem Zouaghi and now has over 200,000 active users.
Maiza, Galactech’s CEO, will be joining GBArena as co-CEO.
In October 2021, GBarena raised a six-figure pre-Series A funding round, to fuel its expansion plans.
Press release:
GBarena, the leading Middle East esports platform, today announced an agreement to acquire Tunisia-based Galactech, the gaming leader in North Africa alongside a significant presence in the GCC. The transaction expands GBArena’s footprint into the burgeoning North African market and signals their intentions to expand further including throughout the GCC.
Valued at around $15 million, in the form of a share swap, it marks the second Tunisian acquisition this month following Instadeep's whopping ₤562 million transactions by BioNTech.
This marks a milestone transaction for GBarena in anticipation of closing its Series A later this year, with participation from investors in the US, Singapore and the Mena region.
This acquisition comes in alignment with GBArena’s planned expansion into GCC, including Saudi Arabia. With the entry into North Africa executed via this transaction, the focus will continue on further expansion in the Middle Eastern esports industry. GBArena will leverage the on-ground presence and capabilities that Galactech has in Riyadh, Dubai and Tunis.
Galactech, founded in 2019, has been making waves in the North African gaming scene since its launch in 2019. With over 200,000 active users, they have become one of the most popular gaming platforms in North Africa and beyond in the region.
GBarena CEO Samer Wagdy expressed his enthusiasm for this new venture: “Our goal has always been to provide our users with an unparalleled esports experience, no matter where they're located in the world. With our acquisition of Galactech, we can now ensure that our users from North Africa will have access to identical features and content they have come to expect from us while providing them with extensive opportunities for growth and development within the esports community." Wagdy also emphasised that this acquisition is one step forward towards achieving the company’s vision, which is to be the leading aggregator in MENA, serving all stakeholders in the industry.
“We’re very happy to be taking a step forward to fulfil the vision we started embarking on the journey with. Under GBArena’s ownership, Galactech will be able to tap into both GBArena’s established user base and resources to strengthen its presence in the region,” mentioned Houcem Maiza, Galactech’s CEO, who’ll be joining GBArena as Co-CEO.
With today’s GenZ driving the region’s $3.56 billion industry, GBA’s youth-driven leadership is set in stone to build the engagement needed to foster communities across the Middle East and North Africa. Viewing today’s growth opportunity in markets like KSA and UAE, with injections of over $40 billion on infrastructural developments, a lot is expected to shape up in Mena’s gaming ecosystem in 2023. Upgrades to web3 & cloud gaming will be revolutionising the local experience very soon, reaching an expected 85.76 million gamers by 2025.
“We are thrilled to announce that with this transaction GBarena is joining forces with Galactech, creating a regional powerhouse in the thriving gaming industry," said GBarena’s chairman, Ahmed Abou Doma.
He added that "After careful analysis, we both realised it is a perfect complementary strategic fit for both companies. It will allow us to combine our strengths and resources maximising value creation and providing our gamers, fans and partners and all stakeholders with an unparalleled experience. We look forward to taking esports in the region to the next level and cementing our position as the regional leader in the industry.”
Shehata & Partners is acting as the legal advisor and Youssef Salem is acting as the financial advisor on the transaction.
source: Wamda
The plant, set to open in 2025, will serve Saudi Arabia and export markets in the Middle East and North Africa
Nestle will invest SAR7bn ($1.86bn) in Saudi Arabia in the coming 10 years, starting with a plant to make infant products and ready-to-drink coffee, as the kingdom looks to attract more foreign investments to diversify its oil-dependent economy.
The plant, set to open in 2025 with an initial investment of SAR375m riyals, will serve Saudi Arabia and export markets in the Middle East and North Africa, the Swiss food giant said in a statement. The investments over the next decade are expected to create 3,500 direct and indirect jobs.
“Nestle’s investments will contribute to food security and the development of local businesses, fuel local innovation, and create jobs for youth and professionals,” Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment in Saudi Arabia, said in the statement.
Saudi Arabia has set a target of attracting around $100bn a year of foreign direct investment by 2030 as it looks to diversify its economy. Yet most of the foreign investments in the country has been into the oil industry.
Of the nearly $20bn of FDI last year, about $12bn was related to an oil pipelines deal by state-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco.
source: Gulf Business
Bahrain-based foodtech Calo, has raised a $13 million pre-Series A round led by Nuwa Capital and STV. Other investors participating in the round include Khwarizmi Ventures, Al Faisaliah Group and AlRajhi Family Office. This brings Calo's total investment to date to $26.5 million after raising its Seed round last year.
Founded in 2019 by Ahmed AlRawi and Moayed Almoayed, Calo serves personalised meal subscriptions.
The new funds will be used to double down on the GCC market where it currently operates in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Kuwait. It will also look to serve new categories, and explore opportunities for regional and international expansion.
Press release:
Calo, a direct-to-consumer foodtech company offering personalised meal subscriptions, recently raised a $13 million pre-Series A round led by two of the region’s largest investors, Nuwa Capital and STV. This round brings the total investment in Calo to $26.5 million after raising its Seed round just last year.
Calo serves personalised meal subscriptions to busy people, catered towards fitness or lifestyle goals. Customers receive their meals daily and get to choose from a rotating menu with over 500 options. The service is loved by tens of thousands of customers that have enjoyed millions of Calo meals. The company prides itself on being customer-centric, and its Customer Experience team goes above and beyond in delivering happiness. Calo reports that most of its customers come through word of mouth.
The new funds will be used to double down on the GCC market, serve new categories, and explore opportunities for regional and international expansion. This comes after the company has expanded to 2 additional countries and 6 new cities this year including Dammam and Jeddah in Saudi, as well as the UAE and Kuwait. Calo’s most recent funding round also included the participation of Khwarizmi Ventures, Al Faisaliah Group, AlRajhi Family Office, and other investors.
Ahmed Alrawi, CEO at Calo, highlights, “We’re delivering millions of meals per year and have consistently been quadrupling in growth year over year. We foresee that this trend continues over the next few years as the wellness wave continues to grow.”
Nitin Reen, a partner at Nuwa Capital, said, “The team at Calo has mastered the ability to hone the fundamentals while continuing to innovate within the realm of foodtech. However, what truly makes Calo special is that they maintain an unrelenting focus on their customers in their journey to a healthy lifestyle. We have a strong belief in the founders and their traction and ability to recruit a very special team, in such a short time, which is a testament to their capabilities and vision. We are very excited to partner with Calo in their next chapter of growth and have every confidence that the team will continue to succeed.”
Mazin Alzaidi, a general partner at STV, agreed, “Calo is truly making healthy easy for thousands of customers across the region. The continuous growth and positive reviews are a sentiment to the teams' obsession with the customer and focus on operational excellence. Calo is solving a real problem, and we are excited to double down on our partnership with the team and company as they solve it for thousands more.”
Calo’s vertically integrated model allows the company to serve its customers a high-quality personalised experience while maintaining healthy margins, making the company’s business units very profitable.
“Today, there’s no global leader in the personalised nutrition space. We believe we can be that company. The biggest food companies in the world serve food that’s good for your tastebuds, but terrible for your body. We’re on a mission to change that,” said Alrawi.
Founded in 2019 in Bahrain, the company has quickly grown to nearly 700 employees located around the world. Calo currently operates in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Kuwait, with plans to expand to other markets in the future.
source: Wamda
