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Written by: Admin Admin

Category: News

Published: 16 September 2023

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• Saudi Arabia
• Startup
• Rewaa

• Saudi Arabia-based full-stack inventory management platform Rewaa has raised $27 million (SAR100 million) in a Series A funding round, led by Wa’ed Ventures, the VC arm of Aramco, along with STC’s Corporate Investment Fund (CIF), Silicon Valley’s Graphene Ventures, Sadu Capital, Vision Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, RZM Investment, Derayah VC, and Abdulrahman Sulaiman Al Rajhi & Sons Investment Company.
• Founded in 2018 by Mohammed Alqasir and Abdullah Aljadhai, Rewaa provides retailers with a cloud-based integrated solution that synchronises online and physical store inventory, in addition to offering Point-of-Sale (POS) and accounting modules for a fully integrated platform.
• The company claims to have served more than 7,000 retailers in Saudi Arabia and in the Middle East, creating over 250 local jobs.

Press release:

Rewaa, the leading full-stack inventory management platform for the retail industry, has raised $27 million (SAR 100 million) in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Wa’ed Ventures, the Kingdom-based VC fund wholly owned by Aramco.

STC’s Corporate Innovation Fund (CIF), launched earlier in February to invest in early-stage tech companies across various digital sectors, participated in the round. Rewaa marks CIF’s first venture investment in Saudi Arabia since its launch.

Other participating investors included Silicon Valley’s Graphene Ventures, Sadu Capital, Vision Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, RZM Investment, Derayah VC, and Abdulrahman Sulaiman Al Rajhi & Sons Investment Company.

According to the founders, the company has processed over SAR 7 billion in transaction value to date, positioning it as one of Saudi’s fastest-growing SaaS companies in the MENA region. The company specializes in omnichannel inventory management software.

“This investment propels us toward our vision of becoming the optimal technological partner for small and medium-sized businesses in the retail sector. By contributing to the industry's digital transformation through the creation of a globally competitive product, we aim to make a significant impact on retail merchants, empowering them to deliver unparalleled service with heightened efficiency,” said Mohammed Alqasir, Co-Founder and CEO at Rewaa.

Founded in 2018 by Mohammed Alqasir and Abdullah Aljadhai, Rewaa provides retailers with a cloud-based integrated solution that synchronizes online and physical store inventory seamlessly, in addition to offering Point-of-Sale (POS) and accounting modules for a fully integrated platform. The company aims to become a technical partner for retailers by providing advanced technical solutions to manage inventory, sales, and payments which facilitate various business functions all from one portal.

Since its inception, Rewaa has served more than 7,000 retailers in the Kingdom and abroad, creating over 250 local jobs. The company’s innovation and success led to its recognition as one of the 35 tech companies in the Saudi Unicorns Program. The program itself was announced during LEAP, the region’s largest technology conference, as a joint initiative by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), the National Technology Development Program (NTDP), and Misk Foundation.

“Rewaa’s revolutionary approach to digitizing and optimizing operational processes based on efficiency and scale-up goals for SMEs perfectly addresses the needs of the typically-scattered retail industry,” said Fahad Alidi, Managing Director at Wa’ed Ventures.

“We had the privilege of knowing Mohammed and Abdullah since their early days as founders. We are proud to back their growth today as they transform Rewaa from a simple digital tool to the go-to cloud-based POS and inventory management platform for local and regional retailers,” he adds.

“We are pleased to invest in Rewaa, which has proven itself through tremendous in recent months, thanks to a and thanks to a great team behind these achievements. Through our investment, we seek to participate in developing technologies that support the retail market, including Rewaa'a company,” commented Majed Aljarboua, General Manager at stc Corporate Funds & Entrepreneurship.

Source: Wamda

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Written by: Admin Admin

Category: News

Published: 15 September 2023

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• Saudi Arabia
• Startup
• Aramco
• Wa’ed Venture

Saudi Arabia’s Wa’ed Venture, the VC arm of Aramco, has co-led a $52 million Series B round in the US-based construction technology (contech) startup Mighty Buildings, along with BOLD Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures and 15 other new and existing investors.

Mighty Buildings, founded in 2017, is a 3D printing contech known for its prefabricated, environmentally friendly and climate-resilient homes.

The new round brings the total funding raised since inception to $153 million.

The funds will be used to build out Mighty Buildings’ factories in North America and expand operations to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Press release:

Mighty Buildings, the leader in 3D printing construction technology known for its prefabricated, environmentally friendly and climate-resilient homes, today announced that it has raised $52 million in funding. This latest round demonstrates strong investor confidence in Mighty Buildings' innovative offsite 3D printing construction technology.

The round was co-led by Wa’ed Ventures, the $500 million innovation-focused venture capital fund backed by Saudi Aramco, and by BOLD Capital Partners, a U.S. disruption and transformation-focused venture firm. Existing investor Khosla Ventures and new investor KB-Badgers, a South Korean firm investing from its sustainability-focused fund, were among a total of almost 20 investors in the round. New investors contributed more than half of the funds raised.

Funding is earmarked to accelerate the development and scale production of new homes for the U.S. market, where new home demand continues to increase, as well as to establish manufacturing operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the largest and fastest-growing construction markets in the world. The addition of operations in the Gulf region aligns with Mighty Buildings' strategy to transform housing construction globally while addressing sustainability, climate resilience, and the global housing shortage.

“The team at Mighty Buildings have reaffirmed our confidence in the incredible and diverse potential for innovation lying within the construction tech industry. Our investment in the company reflects our belief that innovative materials, such as those used in Mighty Buildings’ proprietary 3D-printing, will be a major driver for scalability and sustainability of homebuilding in the Gulf Region,” said Fahad Alidi, Managing Director at Wa’ed Ventures.

Mighty Buildings is meeting a rapidly growing demand for sustainable, prefabricated housing, as evidenced by the delivery of over 50 units to date, an important milestone that reflects the company's progress in developing scalable housing technology. By focusing on its mission, the company is making it easier, faster and more cost-effective to build homes, while pushing the construction industry towards lower carbon, climate-resilient solutions.

“This recent funding underlines Mighty Buildings’ leadership in the modular homebuilding market. It will accelerate our growth by funding the international expansion to one of the most exciting homebuilding regions in the world. We are thrilled about the support from such esteemed investors for our mission: solving the housing and climate crises by transforming the way the world builds homes,” said Mighty Buildings’ CFO Rene Griemens.

Following the opening of its innovative, industrial-scale factory in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2022, the company continues to emphasize its strategy of transformative home building. Mighty Buildings’ patented factory-based 3D printing manufacturing process speeds construction by 3-4x, providing for the completion of a home’s envelope in less than one week with drastically less water and near zero waste.

Using its patented Lumus material, which is 5x stronger than concrete, the technology of Mighty Buildings creates climate-resilient homes that resist severe weather, hurricanes and earthquakes.

Source: Wamda

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Written by: Admin Admin

Category: News

Published: 07 July 2023

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Saudi Arabia-based foodtech startup NOMU, has raised a $5 million Seed round from DIV Capital, Shurfah, Core Vision, Purity for Information Technology, and family offices in KSA such as Altoukhi Family Office and Bakr Family Office, along with angel investors.

NOMU will use the fresh funding to expand its reach in the hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) sector as well as develop a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution and an AI-enabled procurement chatbot, with plans to cover Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa in the near future.

NOMU was founded in late 2022 as a result of a merger between q-commerce startups, Saudi-based Jumlaty and Egypt’s Appetito.

Press release

NOMU, the innovative food-tech supply chain platform set to revolutionise the food and beverage industry in the MENA region, has announced the successful closure of its first round of financing after the merger and establishment of Nomu Group.

The seed round raised $5 million from leading investors, including DIV Capital, Shurfah, Core Vision, Purity for Information Technology, and prominent family offices in KSA such as Altoukhi Family Office and Bakr Family Office, along with angel investors. The funds raised will be used to expand NOMU's B2B HORECA offering, with a specific focus on restaurants and financing solutions. NOMU plans to develop a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution and an AI assistant procurement officer chatbot. The company places a strong emphasis on sustainability and healthy unit economics, with two markets already achieving profitability.

Since its inception in 2022, NOMU has experienced rapid expansion and currently operates in four countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. The company has aggressive plans to expand into 50 cities/towns by 2025. Remarkably, NOMU has already proven a positive cashflow business model, recorded 10x revenue growth within 12 months and gross margins are above healthy sustainable levels, NOMU has established strategic international partnerships with industry giants such as Savola and Procter & Gamble.

Founded by Salman Attieh, Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi, Shehab Mokhtar, and Ahmed Eldemerdash, NOMU Group's headquarters are located in Riyadh, KSA, with a holding structure in Abu Dhabi's International Financial Centre. This strategic positioning enables NOMU to develop its operations further and expand its footprint, with plans to cover Pakistan and key sub-Saharan countries in the near future.

"We are thrilled with the overwhelming support we have received from our investors, both in terms of funding and strategic partnerships," said Shehab Mokhtar, Co-Founder and CEO of NOMU Group. "This seed round allows us to strengthen our B2B HORECA offering, invest in cutting-edge technology, and expand into new markets. NOMU is committed to revolutionizing the food-tech supply chain, providing greater convenience and efficiency for businesses in the MENA region."

NOMU's successful seed funding round marks a significant milestone in the company's journey to transform the F&B supply chain. With its strong financial backing, strategic partnerships, efficient centralized OPEX and visionary leadership, NOMU Group is poised to reshape the industry and drive innovation throughout the region.

Source: Wamda

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Written by: Admin Admin

Category: News

Published: 13 June 2023

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• Saudi Arabia
• Jada Fund of Funds

Jada Fund of Funds, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has invested in Bahrain's Investorcorp, a $500 million pre-IPO growth fund.

The fund, launched last year, aims to invest in a diversified portfolio of high-growth startups looking to go public over the next few years.

Last August, Investcorp led a $100 million pre-IPO funding round in TruKKer, a trucking marketplace, with over 45,000 trucks on its platform, and NourNet, a local ICT company serving 1,200 corporate clients operating across over 20 industries.

Launched in late 2019, Jada is a $1.07 billion (SAR 4 billion) fund targeting investments in startups, venture capital (VC) funds and private equity funds.

Press release

Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, has announced that Jada Fund of Funds, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has committed to invest in Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund (the “Fund”). The Fund was launched last year to invest in a diversified portfolio of companies, primarily based in Saudi Arabia that are targeting to access the public capital markets over the next few years. Last August, Investcorp led a $100 million Pre-IPO funding round in TruKKer, MENA’s largest digital freight network, with over 45,000 trucks inducted on its platform. This was followed by the Fund’s investment in NourNet, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading ICT companies, with over 1,200 B2B clients operating across over 20 industries.

The Fund is targeting equity growth capital investments across a range of companies primarily based in Saudi Arabia with the potential to access the capital markets within 3-4 years. The Fund provides investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to growing and market-leading businesses in strategic, high growth and underserved sub-sectors such as business services, transport and logistics, healthcare and consumer.

“One of Jada's primary goals is to support the growth of the local private equity ecosystem, and we look forward to see Investcorp's Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund playing an impactful role in supporting companies across the Kingdom that have strong growth trajectories and the ability to invigorate the wider SME community,” said Bandr Alhomaly, CEO of Jada Fund of Funds Company".

“We are excited about Jada’s commitment to anchor our Fund. We share a common objective of supporting national champions in their growth and value creation journey, contributing to the Kingdom’s economic development and diversification objectives”, said Walid Majdalani, Head of Private Equity MENA and Southeast Asia.

“Jada’s commitment to Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Fund marks the start of a long-term strategic partnership, as Investcorp continues to grow its assets under management across multiple asset classes in Saudi Arabia,” said Yasser Bajsair, Head of Investcorp Saudi Arabia.

Source: Wamda