FOODICS raises $170m in Series C round in MENA

By Edlyn Cardoza

FOODICS, leading cloud-based technology and payments platform for restaurants in the MENA region, has successfully raised $170 million in a Series C funding round led by Prosus, one of the largest global technology investors in the world, and Sanabil Investments, a PIF-owned investment company, focused on private growth investments in various stages of the business cycle. Other investors included Sequoia Capital India and existing investors, including STV and Endeavor Catalyst.

FOODICS is a restaurant management and FinTech ecosystem that empowers Food & Beverage (F&B) owners and merchants to run their operations more seamlessly and efficiently, thereby fast-tracking their business growth. Formally licensed as a FinTech company by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), it caters to every segment of the F&B sector from traditional dine-in restaurants, cafés, quick service restaurants, bakeries, and food trucks through to cloud kitchens.

This latest round will support FOODICS’ regional and international expansion, including its M&A strategy to increase market penetration. The company will also use the proceeds to launch and scale new initiatives around FinTech, micro-lending and supply chain management, alongside boosting its innovation capabilities to serve business owners better. FOODICS will also expand into non-food micro-retail outlets as part of its growth strategy as a new segment.

Ahmad Al-Zaini, FOODICS Co-Founder and CEO, commented: “FOODICS has come a long way since our early days and we are proud to have been able to secure capital from premium international tech investors to further power our journey. This latest investment will enable us to accelerate the development of our end-to-end tech stack ecosystem to better support the F&B entrepreneurs and owners who make up the majority of our client community. We are thankful to our existing shareholders, Sanabil Investments and STV, for their trust in FOODICS, and welcome our new investors Prosus and Sequoia Capital India to the FOODICS family. We look forward to the exciting journey ahead together.”

Fahd Beg, Chief Operating Officer of Prosus Food, said, “We believe restaurant-tech is an exciting opportunity within the food ecosystem with significant growth potential. FOODICS has already established a strong regional presence by leveraging its product vision, technical excellence, and brand. We look forward to partnering with the exceptional FOODICS team as they continue their expansion geographically and across adjacent verticals.”

Sanabil Investments spokesperson commented, “Sanabil is thrilled to back FOODICS, an emerging leader with strong ambitions to expand regionally and internationally. FOODICS has built strong brand recognition, unparalleled in the regional F&B market. We are excited to be part of the next phase of growth in enabling micro-retail businesses at the inter-section of digitization and fintech solutions. We look forward to supporting the company in realizing its full potential and unlocking new markets.”

Since its inception in 2014, Foodics has successfully processed over 5 billion orders through its platform. Last January, it also made its first acquisition with the full ownership of POSRocket, the second largest restaurant Cloud technology provider in MENA, with further M&A activities and international expansion moves on the cards, including countries in the APAC region.