20-Jan-2022 | Market Research Store
The agreement will assist the Riyadh-based firm in establishing itself as an industry leader in Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, and Jordan.
Jordan's POSRocket, the Middle East and North Africa's 2nd leading restaurant cloud services operator, was bought by Saudi technological start-up Foodics, which supports the food & beverage and retail sectors.
The Riyadh-based business said that its first purchase will help it solidify its place and be the leading company in Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, and Jordan, as well as pave the path for further transactions and worldwide development.
“The region has recently witnessed a significant acceleration in the digitalization of operations in both the retail and food and beverage sectors due to the pandemic,” said Ahmad Al Zaini, chief executive and co-founder of Foodics.
Also, “As a result, businesses have had to augment their online presence to follow their customers’ footprints and provide them with an optimal customer experience. We chose POSRocket as they were able to fully leverage this trend, having gained the trust of an exponential number of merchants for their services, which will be further enhanced with this strategic acquisition.”
Foodics supplies restaurant management software and raised USD 20 Mn in venture capital in February of 2021 to grow. Sanabil Investments, a division of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and STV led the Series B fundraising round for Foodics. Elm, Endeavor Catalyst, and Derayah are among the other supporters.
Customer requirements, stock, work scheduling, as well as other operational components of restaurants, cafés, cloud kitchens, food trucks, and other enterprises are all managed by the company's software. It operates out of eight locations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Egypt, Netherlands, and Jordan.
Foodics has cleared more than USD 5 Bn in orders via its network since the beginning of 2014, and the firm plans to reach 150,000 stations through the end of 2024, according to the company.
Foodics' software is accessible in Arabic, English, and French, with a Spanish version planned for release in the next months.
Foodics Capital, a subsidiary that will provide micro-loans to its small and medium enterprises customer base, has also reached an arrangement with Saudi Arabia-based Maalem Financing. In 2020, it launched a $100 million microloan fund to help smaller businesses in the F&B industry with Sharia-compliant microloans.
According to data provided by data platform Magnitt, total investment acquired by start-ups in the North Africa and the Middle East region increased by 64 percent in the first half of 2021, to USD 1.2 Bn, compared to last year.
According to Magnitt, the businesses with the highest revenue committed are FinTech, food & beverage, and e-commerce.
Despite the fact that the food and beverage industry received the most capital invested, FinTech businesses were engaged in the most agreements, according to the firm.