Foodics closed a $4 Million Round in One of the Largest Rounds for a Saudi Technology Company
Saudi Arabia's Foodics has closed a SAR 15 million ($4 million) investment round, led by Raed Ventures and Riyad TAQNIA Fund (RTF) with the participation of Neseel Holding and 500 Startups Fund. This is the first raise done by Foodics.
Ahmed Alzaini, the co-founder, attributed the success of this round to Foodics’ fast growth enabled by a high demand for the company's cloud-based point of sale system, which allows seamless operations management of restaurants and retail stores. “Foodics’ products are characterized by their ability to integrate with Internet-based services such as accounting and inventory management systems. In addition, Foodic’s products can be integrated with the widely available fast growing on-demand food delivery platforms. Foodics systems are offered in competitive packages for retailers and restaurants compared to old, expensive and non-smart POS systems offered by legacy providers,” said Ahmed Alzaini.
Omar Almajdouie, Raed Ventures founding partner, said: "We are pleased to see the success of this round and the contribution of highly sophisticated and strategic investors to the company." The investors will support the company to accelerate the company's growth in the two current markets (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) and open new markets in the Gulf and the Middle East, He added that Foodics success in its industry shows that Saudi companies are able to enter into the complex technological fields that were exclusive to foreign companies. This investment is a continuation of the bold investments of Raed Ventures in the fastest growing companies in Saudi Arabia and the region in general.
Hani Enaya, RTF’s Managing Director, said that this investment is part of RTF’s efforts to and scale startups in the Kingdom and the region. RTF aims at investing in added value companies that are scalable and house a strong founding team with diverse skills. He also added that RTF has a strong conviction that Foodics will become one of the leading companies in the digital transformation of the region. Dr. Hani also expressed his delight on the diverse and deep experience that the current investors syndicate bring to the table.
Foodics was founded in 2013 in Khobar by two young entrepreneurs, Ahmad Alzaini and Musab Alothmani. The company then moved to Badir Program for Technology Incubators in Riyadh in 2015. Foodics graduated from Badir Program in Q4 2016 and currently employs 52 employees in 4 cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, and Dubai.
On the other hand, Raed Ventures is a fund management company established by Almajdouie Holding. Its first fund focuses on investing in seed and early stage startups in the MENA region. RTF is a venture capital fund founded by TAQNIA and Riyad Capital. It is backed by leading institutional investors in Saudi Arabia. RTF invests in early stage startups in the areas of ICT, energy, and sustainability.