Saudi Technology Ventures, the venture capital firm anchored by telecommunications firm Saudi Telecom, has co-led an $18m series B round for Saudi Arabia-based grocery delivery service Nana, MenaBytes reported yesterday.
VC firm Middle East Venture Partners co-led the round while VC fund Wamda Capital, investment advisory firm Watar Partners and the government-owned Saudi Venture Capital Company also contributed, along with undisclosed individuals who took part as existing investors.
Founded in 2016, Nana initially concentrated on an online grocery-ordering app but has now expanded into also providing delivery services for other online marketplaces in Saudi Arabia.
The company covers 14 cities and recently tripled its capacity in just 10 days following strict curfew rules introduced by the Saudi Arabian government in an attempt to circumvent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
The funding will support the formation of new partnerships by Nana in addition to operational growth and geographic expansion set to include entry into neighbouring Middle East countries.
Sami Alhelwah, Nana’s co-founder and chief executive, was quoted by MenaBytes as saying: “This round will fuel our growth efforts and enable our expansion into new cities and countries.
By replicating what we have accomplished across multiple cities in Saudi Arabia elsewhere, we are advancing our mission to make people’s lives easier through Nana.
“The round will also allow us to further improve our customer experience and develop tech solutions to support the growth and development of Nana’s success partners.”
Nana had previously closed a $6.6m series A round co-led by Middle East Venture Partners and Impact46 in August 2019 that also featured Watar Partners, Saudi Venture Capital Company and Wamda Capital.
