• Saudi Arabia-based food delivery startup Jahez is considering going public on Nomu, Saudi Arabia's secondary exchange for SMEs and has appointed HSBC Saudi Arabia as the sole financial advisor and global coordinator for what could be the country's first tech listing.
• Founded in 2016 by Ghassab Al Mandeel, Jahez offers full-stack logistics and last-mile delivery solutions to its restaurant partners utilising its own proprietary delivery capabilities. Now, it counts 13,000 restaurants on its platform and works with 45,000 delivery partners in 47 cities across Saudi Arabia.
• During the RiseUp Summit 2020, Al Mandeel announced the company’s intention to go public in 2021.
• Last year, Jahez raised a $36 million Series A funding round, led by Impact46.

Source: Trade Arabia

Jahez International Company for Information Technology (Jahez) has announced the appointment of HSBC Saudi Arabia as the sole Financial Advisor and Global Coordinator for its potential initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Exchange’s Nomu - Parallel Market. The transaction is subject to market conditions and receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals.

Jahez is a homegrown Saudi business that utilises disruptive technology to connect around two million customers with its platform’s network that includes 13,000 restaurants and 45,000 delivery partners in 47 cities across Saudi Arabia.

The company experienced tremendous growth since its launch in 2016 and captured a significant market share to become the leading delivery platform in the Kingdom. In 2020 alone, the total number of orders made through the Jahez platform reached around 20 million.

Ghassab Al Mandeel, Chief Executive Officer at Jahez International Company, commented: “We aspire to become the most loved platform with the largest presence in the Middle East, and we seek to achieve this goal through a relentless passion for our business and commitment to customers and success partners. It is this passion and commitment that has fuelled our exponential growth since our founding in 2016. We have delivered over 45 million orders across the kingdom in less than five years and achieved healthy profitability in 2020.”

“We will continue to expand our platform to tap into new growth opportunities offered by rapid, technology-enabled changes in consumer behavior, both in Saudi Arabia and in the wider region. Since convenience has become a prevalent feature of our society, and to benefit from the accumulated technical and human expertise, we launched new business lines, including a quick commerce platform (PiK) and a last mile logistics platform (LOGI). We also expanded into cloud kitchens through the acquisition of CoKitchens. The creation of these new ventures will help ensure that we remain agile and continue to meet the needs of existing and new customers in the future, taking advantage of greater scale and strong network effects,” added Al Mandeel.

In the last three years, the online delivery market has grown exponentially, expanding at a CAGR of more than 50%. Positive market dynamics, including the improving Saudi economy and the resulting rise in employment and disposable income, are expected to lead to higher spending on F&B and e-commerce, further supported by Vision 2030 transformation programmes.

In addition, mobile phone penetration in the Kingdom is among the highest globally, yet the adoption of online delivery has lagged when compared to other countries, presenting a large growth opportunity. Other Middle Eastern markets are also poised for further growth in the near future.

The transaction would be the first IPO of a Saudi homegrown technology start-up on the Saudi Exchange. It also supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda, which aims to stimulate the growth of the private sector, develop digital infrastructure, attract foreign investment and diversify the economy.

In line with the objectives of the Financial Sector Development Programme, the Saudi Exchange and Capital Market Authority have over the past years championed reforms to promote a diversified and advanced capital market, creating an optimal environment for Saudi SMEs to access additional funding, increasing their GDP contribution and stimulating their growth.