Kuwait’s Jumla Club raises seven-figure pre-Series A for its B2B F&B platform that connects hotels and restaurants with vendors

Kuwait-based B2B food and beverage platform Jumla Club has raised seven-figure pre-Series A, the startup told MENAbytes, without disclosing the exact size of investment but saying that it came at a post-money valuation of $10 million. The investment came from a GCC-based individual investor, said the startup.

Founded in late 2017 and launched in March last year, Jumla Club connects both sides of the food and beverage industry, enabling suppliers to add their products and catalogs to the platform to be able to receive orders from restaurants, hotels, cafes, and catering company. The startup makes it easier for suppliers in F&B industry to distribute their products and for hotels and restaurants to source them.

Jumla Club allows customers to compare goods, place and manage their orders, and make one single payment for their orders. They have the option to pay in cash or online through Jumla Club Wallet.

The startup was founded by Mohammad Ghuloum, a PhD in Operations Management and Decision Sciences, Abdulaziz Ghuloum who hold PhD in Computer Science, and Yousuf Al Marzook who manages a portfolio of family businesses. The founders, having started restuarants previously, come with extensive experience in the F&B industry.

Yousuf Al Marzook, the co-founder and Chief Commercial Office, speaking to MENAbytes said that the investment will be used to further develop Jumla Club’s technology and operational expertise. He also said that the startup will soon expand to other regional markets, starting with GCC countries. For now, Jumla Club’s platform serves users in Kuwait only.

Yousuf added that the platform currently has over 28,000 products of 1400 brands from 130 vendors. These include products in the categories of fruits and vegetables, bakery, consumables, kitchenware, canned food, coffee, rice, and many more.

Jumla Club currently has its team of 16 employees – all of whom work from its office in Kuwait.

Update: The story was updated with a confirmation that the valuation of the startup mentioned in this article is post-money.