Kuwaiti start-up Floward raises $27.5m in STV-led funding round
27 June, 2021
Kuwaiti start-up Floward, an online florist and gift-delivery business, has raised $27.5 million in a funding round led by Saudi Arabi's technology capital raising fund STV.
Saudi asset management firm Impact46 also participated in the Series B funding round, the start-up said on Sunday.
"We have been on a clear and rapid growth path that was further accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic as e-commerce penetration saw an enormous surge in the past year," said Floward chief executive Abdulaziz Al Loughani.
"These situations presented to us clear opportunities and accelerated our growth plans in the Mena region and beyond."
The Covid-19 pandemic has hastened a consumer shift to online shopping and food deliveries in the centre East amid movement restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
Create in 2017, Floward is currently a £21.64m ($30m) business.
Annual revenue grew by 1,400 % between January 2020 and 2021 - when the rest of the world was battling the economical fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic - and its own transactions surged 1,200 per cent.
Revenue in the first 100 days of 2021 has already exceeded annual sales for your of 2020, putting the business enterprise on a "clear way to positive unit economics and profitability", said Mr Al Loughani.
Floward plans to use the proceeds from the Series B funding round to expand in the region after venturing into the UK this past year, its first foray outside the Gulf.
While its UK businesses are now mostly centered on London, it also plans to expand to other major cities in the united states during the first quarter of 2022.
"We've a clear expansion strategy that follows our own set playbook, allowing us to swiftly and seamlessly expand to new markets with the aim to become major global player in the flowers and gifts industry," said Mr Al Loughani.
Floward currently operates in 20 cities across seven countries and employs 450 people.
The web florist offers customers freshly cut flowers that are arranged locally and delivered within hours.
Ahmad Al Naimi, somebody at STV, said Floward had displayed an understanding of consumer trends, customer experience and the supply chain.
STV was an early on investor in ride-hailing company Careem, that was later acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion. It has also backed Egypt's online healthcare start-up Vezeeta and UAE-based Trukker.
Start-ups in the Mena region secured $1.03bn in funding this past year, up 13 % weighed against 2019, according to data platform Magnitt.
E-commerce start-ups, along with FinTech companies, received the majority of the money.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
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