The India-born startup FreshToHome will part-use the fresh capital to set up a fish and poultry farm, besides spreading its delivery network to more cities in UAE
Armed with a fresh $104 million funding deal, leading e-commerce platform for fresh marine and meat products FreshToHome is gearing up for a major expansion in its UAE operation with setting up a fish and poultry farm and spreading its delivery network to more cities.
The venture, which entered the UAE market two years ago, will also soon finalise its much-delayed entry plan into Saudi Arabia, left hanging apparently due to uncertainties over venture capital funding for startups.
FreshToHome revealed on Tuesday striking a deal with a clutch of investors led by Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund for raising $104 million in a Series D round.
The other investors in the latest round include E20 Investment Ltd, Mount Judi Ventures and DallahAlbaraka.
Besides, existing investors in FreshToHome such as Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai and Ascent Capital have also participated in this round.
JP Morgan acted as the placement agent to FreshToHome for the latest fundraising round.
“We will use the fresh capital mainly for three things – one, for a broader expansion in the UAE and India, second, for expansion in GCC with immediate entry plan into the Saudi market, and third, for launching an omnichannel marketing – online and offline – in the UAE,” Shan Kadavil, co-founder and chief executive officer of FreshToHome said.
“We already have covered more than 160 cities for our delivery operations and we will be adding more cities in the coming months,” Kadavil said.
The latest fundraising deal for FreshToHome comes amid investors tightening their funding activities –widely described as ‘funding winter’ – due to concerns over profit making abilities of startups.
“We are now a ‘proficorn’, with operational profitability across the company,” Kadavil said.
“As we strive to offer more value to our farmers and fishers, customers, employees and investors, our focus will be on profitability and sustainable value creation,” he said.
