This Saudi foodtech startup raised $5 million to revolutionise the food and beverage industry in the MENA region
The Middle East and Africa remain one of the smallest food and beverage-producing regions in the world highly dependent on imports, according to Euromonitor International.
While Asia recorded $3.8 billion in sales in 2021, the region estimated $442 billion in turnover in 2020. Though the region has the potential to increase manufacturing productivity, low investment in the industry is a drawback.
Understanding this plight, a Saudi Arabia-based foodtech startup NOMU, has raised a $5 million seed round to revolutionise the food and beverage industry in the MENA region. The funding marks a significant milestone in NOMU's journey to transform the food and beverage supply chain, by developing its operations further and expanding its footprint to cover Pakistan and key sub-saharan countries soon.
With an emphasis on restaurants and financing options, the funds raised will be used to increase NOMU's B2B HORECA offering. A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution and an AI assistant procurement officer chatbot are two projects that NOMU intends to develop. The firm prioritises sustainability and sound unit economics, and two of its markets are already profitable.
The firm has already demonstrated a positive cash flow business model, experienced a 10x increase in revenue within a year, and has gross margins that are higher than healthy sustainable norms. Additionally, NOMU has also formed key worldwide alliances with major corporations in the sector, like Savola and Procter & Gamble.
Founded in 2022 by Salman Attieh, Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi, Shehab Mokhtar, and Ahmed Eldemerdash, NOMU has rapidly expanded and now operates in four countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. The startup has ambitious intentions to grow to 50 cities by 2025.
Leading investors in the seed round include angel investors, DIV Capital, Shurfah, Core Vision, Purity for Information Technology, and well-known family offices in Saudi Arabia like the Bakr and Altoukhi family offices.
