Nana Raises $18 Million Series B to Become one of the Best Funded Startups in MENA

Riyadh, KSA (25 March 2020) -- Nana, the leading online grocery and commodities delivery platform in Saudi Arabia, has announced $18 million (SAR 67.5m) in Series B funding, led by STV. The funding round included participation from current investors Water Partners, MEVP, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), and Wamda, as well as existing angel investors. Nana is allocating the majority of the new funds towards bolstering its growth. The company will invest in expanding its operations and geographical footprint within Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC.

Since its launch in 2016, Nana has emerged as the leading online grocery marketplace in the region, having developed a first-rate product and a reputation for superior quality of service. Nana is currently operating in 14 cities and has established strong partnerships with the top supermarket chains in the Kingdom. It is preparing for its entry into neighboring GCC countries as a first move outside of Saudi Arabia and increasing its partnerships with chains and retailers.

Nana is a Riyadh-based online grocery and commodities marketplace that connects users to popular supermarket brands and specialty retail shops. With its intuitive mobile app, customers can conveniently browse through the aisles of their favorite stores from the comfort of their own homes. Customers can have a large variety of goods delivered right to their doorstep whenever it is most convenient.

Tapping into the second-largest household expenditure, Nana is targeting the highly underserved and under-penetrated online grocery market. Needless to say, the opportunity for Nana to digitize the market is substantial, considering that the grocery market in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt alone amounts to $83 billion.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Nana has witnessed a significant spike in demand as people look toward technology to stay safe and fulfill their needs in a time of crisis. The startup is prioritizing its social responsibility towards the community, ensuring that people have access to the food and supplies they need. In an effort to limit the need to go out and minimize people’s exposure to the COVID-19 contagion, Nana has tripled its capacity in just 10 days and is continuously increasing further to ensure that all of the demand is adequately met. This sudden shift in behavior will likely contribute to Nana’s growth in the long-term as more people get exposed to Nana’s services, consumer trust thickens, and behavior shifts towards digital.

Commenting on the investment, Sami Alhelwah, Co-Founder and CEO of Nana said: “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.”

Ahmad Alshammari, Principal at lead investor STV, added: “Online grocery market in Saudi Arabia has the potential to grow 18 times to reach global penetration rates. The opportunity to transform the second-highest consumer spending bucket is large and significant. We’re very excited to back the vision of Sami and the team at Nana; they have managed to build an intuitive product, a reliable operation, and have developed valuable partnerships. In a very short time, Nana has emerged as the market leader in Saudi Arabia and is best-positioned to capture the greater MENA market.”

About Nana Nana is Saudi Arabia’s leading online grocery marketplace, operating in 14 cities across KSA and counting. Born in Riyadh, Nana aspires to define the new and evolved standard for grocery shopping across the GCC by providing its users with an unparalleled and convenient shopping experience.

Through its partnerships with major hypermarkets in KSA and numerous specialty stores, Nana provides its users with a wide selection of goods and facilitates deliveries with the click of a button. Nana solutions and products are catered to all grocery stakeholders: consumers, stores and retailers, shoppers and deliverymen as well as Consumer Packaged Goods companies.

https://nana.sa

About STV STV is a Riyadh-based independent VC fund anchored by Saudi Telecom Group, MENA's largest telecom operator. With offices in Riyadh and Dubai, the $500m fund invests in growth-stage technology companies globally. STV began operations in early 2018. https://stv.vc/

For media queries, please contact:
Ibrahim Alqarawi
Nana
Tel: +966 5 0917 0038
Ibrahim.Alqaraawi@nana.sa
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