Riyadh – Mubasher: The UAE-based Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and Impact46 have co-led an investment worth $6.6 million in Saudi-based Nana Direct, an online grocery platform serving 13 cities across the Kingdom.

The deal marks the debut investment for the partnership between MEVP and Impact46.

Other investors include Watar Partners, Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) Company, Wamda Capital and the Alzamil family, according to NANA’s recent statement.

The online platform has built a technology suite that seamlessly coalesces grocery customers, in-store pickers, Supermarkets and last-mile delivery fleet.

The mobile-only company is transforming the traditional supermarket experience and gaining traction all over the KSA.

“Having built several enterprise products in the past, I wanted to tackle a core consumer challenge and was curious to build technologies to resolve it. Groceries form a significant fraction of a Saudi family’s monthly expenditure and I believed the experience they get in return could be enhanced manifold,” Sami Alhelwah, founder and CEO of Nana Direct, commented.

NANA is considered a completely home-grown start-up having envisioned and delivered a revamped grocery experience through technologies built completely in-house, which has allowed it to act with nimbleness in times of integration with stores and supermarkets.

"Our stores and supermarkets are the real champions. They shared the vision we had and have been so forthcoming throughout the integration cycle. It just goes to show that businesses, small and large, are welcoming technological innovation and that bodes well for all of us," Sami added.

It is worth noting that the platform has grown three times in turnover during 2018.

Nana is in advanced stages of onboarding new stores and supermarkets to offer greater availability to users. It will use the new capital to accelerate its growth plans, continue to build its team and further develop vendor relations.