UAE-based online coffee marketplace Cofe has raised $15 million in a new funding round as the company aims to expand its operations in new markets.
The latest funding round was led by Waed Ventures, the $500 million Saudi-focused venture capital fund wholly-owned by Aramco, and eWTP Arabia Capital, which was founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jerry Li.
Other investors include Al Imtiaz Investment Group, KISP Ventures and Rasameel Investment Company, a Kuwait-based wealth management fund.
Following the new funding round, the company said it will focus on strengthening its e-commerce offerings, boosting its position in the regional market and expanding internationally in the near future.
“Cofe’s story has been one of resilience. We have had some great opportunities, but not without its challenges that have needed innovative manoeuvring,” Ali Al Ebrahim, founder and chief executive of the company, said.
“We have persevered in our ambition to create a fertile breeding ground for the growth of the entire coffee ecosystem.”
Founded in 2018, Cofe is an online marketplace for coffee and all related accessories. The app allows users to order coffees, capsules, beans, coffee machines and associated products from shops or vendors hosted on its platform.
It acquired the UAE-based coffee marketplace Sippy Beans in 2021 as it sought to widen its offerings. In March last year, it acquired Saudi Arabian app Kaffeen for an undisclosed sum in a move to consolidate its presence across the region.
“The founding team at Cofe app, supported by its cutting-edge platform, will disrupt a multi-billion-dollar market fuelled by a nationwide initiative supporting its growth for years to come,” Fahad Alidi, managing director at Waed Ventures, said.
“We look forward to backing Cofe’s growth as it continues to lead the digitalisation of farm-to-cup consumerism across the region.”
Cofe, which entered Saudi Arabia — the Arab world’s biggest economy — in 2020, has seen widespread acceptance from users in the kingdom.
It was listed as one of the top 10 most downloaded food delivery and restaurant apps (2021) in the kingdom in a survey conducted by the Communication and Information Technology Commission of Saudi Arabia.
It has also partnered with the Saudi Coffee Company, established by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.
We have persevered in our ambition to create a fertile breeding ground for the growth of the entire coffee ecosystem
Ali Al Ebrahim,
founder and chief executive of Cofe
The SCC plans over the next 10 years to invest nearly 1.2 billion Saudi riyals ($320 million) in the national coffee industry, with the goal of boosting the country’s production from 300 tonnes per year to 2,500 tonnes per year.
“We partner with like-minded entrepreneurs and support the growth of promising businesses in the GCC region. We believe our investment, combined with strategic assistance, will provide Cofe with resources to scale and grow,” Mr Li, founder and managing partner of eWTP Arabia Capital, said.
The global coffee market was valued at $102 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.28 per cent between 2021 and 2026, a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com showed.
Meanwhile, the coffee market in the Middle East and North Africa region is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent between 2020 and 2025, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence.
Al Imtiaz Investment Group, which is listed on the Boursa Kuwait, is Cofe’s largest investor by contribution. Having invested $10 million in the previous round, it invested $1 million this time around, taking its total investment in Cofe to $11 million.
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Stage result
1. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:29.09
2. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto-Soudal
3. Rudy Barbier (FRA) Israel Start-Up Nation
4. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Luka Mezgec (SLO) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Alberto Dainese (ITA) Sunweb
7. Jakub Mareczko (ITA) CCC
8. Max Walscheid (GER) NTT
9. José Rojas (ESP) Movistar
10. Andrea Vendrame (ITA) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
