Qawafel, a B2B marketplace simplifying trade between buyers and suppliers of perishable food products across Saudi Arabia, has closed its seed investment round of $3 million, co-led by AlSayed Group and Khwarizmi Ventures, in addition to a number of angel investors.
The B2B tech-enabled company plans to use the funding across the operation and growth of its business, R&D to improve and create new products and services, as well as enter new sectors and markets by the end of 2022, such as the frozen food industry.
Headquartered in Riyadh, Qawafel started its business in the confectionery space during the last quarter of 2020 by co-founders Mr. Turki AlAyyad, Mr. Walid Al-Ghobain, and Mr. Qays Bahurmuz.
Qawafel links suppliers to various buyers and points of sale in the confectionery and refrigerated market. It provides integrated technical solutions aimed at enhancing the fragmented wholesale market through a full-stack B2B platform and digital services, offering a seamless user experience for both customers and vendors when managing operations.
The services offered by Qawafel contribute to promoting local production and raising the efficiency of the market’s supply chains through seamless last-mile delivery and payments collections.
Turki AlAyyad CEO – Qawafel
“Qawafel started in the confectionery and chocolate market, where sales are estimated at $1.33 billion annually and acquired approximately 1 percent of the said market in a short period as 500 tons of chocolate were processed and passed around the cities of the Kingdom. We aim to expand vertically in the confectionery sector in general, where annual sales exceed $5.33 billion.”
Currently, Qawafel serves more than 5000 points of sale in more than 188 cities and towns in Saudi Arabia and has maintained a sales growth rate of 30 percent per month, a testimony to seamless customer experience and trust.
Qawafel provides a market data service that aims to help and support small factories in the process of creating and innovating new products. The company has successfully enabled more than 300 local factories, which has contributed to increasing the average rate of orders in these factories.
“Qawafel’s vision is to provide the needed technical and logistical solutions to move the chilled food wholesale market to eCommerce and to enable small family businesses and shop owners to expand and have a presence in new areas. By achieving this, Qawafel aims to support locally made products and contribute to enhancing aspects around national food security,” added Mr. AlAyyad.
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