FOODICS, the F&B and Retail tech start-up based in Saudi Arabia, officially announced today the launch of FOODICS CAPITAL, its micro-lending arm.
The tech start-up, which offers an all in one restaurant management platform helping restaurant owners run their business, has announced it has raised $100M (SAR 375m) to further support Saudi F&B merchants post COVID-19 through Shariah-compliant microloans.
Ahmad Al-Zaini, Co-Founder and CEO commented, “With cash flow being a critical pain point for small business owners right now, we wanted to be able to offer them a one-stop-shop that also covers their finance needs and enables them to accelerate their growth rate.”
Abdullah Tahboub, FOODICS’ CFO added, “This fund is set to revolutionize SME lending, as it will enable faster and more flexible lending than most of the lending facilities in the region. Our application process is indeed straightforward, as all is completed online on our platform, with the initial approval to be granted within as little as 24 hours and final approval in 7 days. FOODICS CAPITAL is able to extend loans from $5K (SAR 18,750), up to $133K (SAR 500,000) as and when needed by small businesses.”
In order to launch the fund, FOODICS CAPITAL partnered with the KSA-based Maalem Finance, a leading provider in Shariah-compliant consumer and SME financing. The product has received the full SAMA (Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) approval. Phase 1 will primarily benefit existing FOODICS customers, who are pre-qualified and will then be rolled out more widely in KSA before year-end.
Al-Zaini concluded, “A finance offering was always part of our vision, in order to offer a true one-stop platform for owners to manage their business. FOODICS is indeed very proud to now allow merchants to finance their working capital by giving them access to Shariah-compliant micro loans through FOODICS CAPITAL, staying true to our objective of always bringing more value to our customers and making their lives easier.”
FOODICS has so far successfully serviced over five thousand customers and processed over a billion orders through the platform, totaling about $200M (SAR750m) monthly in GMV transactions in 2020 and catering to more than 5,000 clients and over 10,000 F&B outlets. Having already established a strong presence in KSA and the UAE since its inception in 2014, FOODICS entered Egypt last month, whilst also in the process of closing its Series B funding round.
