FreshToHome, an online grocer that operates mainly in India and the United Arab Emirates, raised $104 million from a group of investors led by Amazon.com Inc. to help its expansion.
(Bloomberg) —
FreshToHome, an online grocer that operates mainly in India and the United Arab Emirates, raised $104 million from a group of investors led by Amazon.com Inc. to help its expansion.
The Investment Corp. of Dubai, Iron Pillar Capital Management, Investcorp Holdings and Ascent Capital Partners also took part in the series D funding round, according to a statement from the startup that runs an app delivering fresh fish and meat to consumers.
FreshToHome, now one of the largest players in India’s $50 billion fish and meat market, was started in 2015 by eight co-founders who worked together at startups such as Zynga and Support.com in Silicon Valley and India. The company is present in 160 cities, and it makes about 15% of its revenue from the UAE.
The company has been growing at 50% each year and plans to expand into Saudi Arabia in the next 12 months and then across the wider Gulf Cooperation Council region, according to Dubai-based co-founder Shan Kadavil.
The company is also planning an initial public offering in three years, Kadavil said in an interview. “We have turned fully operationally profitable and prior to a public listing that’s a key element investors look at,” he said.
FreshToHome raised $121 million in funding in 2020 and other early investors in the company include David Krane, Mark Pincus and Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ.
“Financial returns while aiding food security is the key reason why some big UAE institutions are supporting us,” Kadavil said. FreshToHome is now working closely with Abu Dhabi Investment Office to bring in fish farming infrastructure into the UAE where about 80% to 90% of fish and meat is imported, he said.
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