India-based eCommerce platform for meat and fish, Freshtohome has raised $121 million in Series C funding led by investors including Dubai’s sovereign wealth.
The company has raised funds from several investors including sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), investment management firm Investcorp, India’s Ascent Capital, US government’s finance institution DFC, the Allana Group and others.
Freshtohome, sells fresh fish and meat which are sourced directly from livestock fishermen and farmers online in most of the major cities of India and the UAE. It will use its latest funding round to expand into Saudi Arabia and to widen business in the Middle East.
The company is targeting $200 million in sales in 2021 while maintaining current EBITDA profitability in mature cities through deeper supply chain integration. As per sources, in the current round, the eCommerce platform is valued between $300-350 million.
Shan Kadavil Co-Founder & CEO FreshToHome
“COVID-19 transformed the fish and meat purchasing behavior of consumers dramatically. Due to safety concerns, consumers made the habit-forming shift to e-commerce and we saw online demand for our products go up many folds this year. We are just beginning to scratch the surface of a very large market and the current capital raise will help us realize our full potential through rapid expansion in India and the Middle East.”
Kearney Middle East, a leading business advisory firm in the region has forecasted that over the next five years eCommerce business will become the main source of growth in the retail sector, which has grown nearly from $5 billion in 2015 to about $24 billion in 2020.
Led by the region’s largest economies Saudi Arabia and the UAE, it is projected that eCommerce in the Gulf will grow to $29 billion in 2021 and will touch $50 million by the end of 2025.
Khalifa Al Daboos, deputy CEO of ICD says that they are further planning to partner with companies like Freshtohome that can break new ground for the greater good while also enjoying a large shareholder value creation opportunity.
Freshtohome has employed AI-powered supply chain technology and cold chain logistics to deliver its products to the customers. According to reports, the company handles nearly 1.5 million orders per month across all of its markets and its per year sales rate is calculated at about $85 million.
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