Jahez bet Saudi-owned delivery could beat global apps; first startup on Nomu, $2.4B IPO

Saudi food delivery and quick-commerce platform connecting restaurants and stores to customers, with its own delivery fleet and logistics.

That a homegrown Saudi delivery platform with its own courier fleet could win the Kingdom's fast-growing food delivery market against better-funded international rivals.

$36M Series A led by Impact46 (2020); SAR 1.8B (~$480M) raised in the January 2022 Nomu IPO

Founded in 2016 by Ghassab Al-Mandil. By mid-2020 Jahez claimed 3 million users, more than 20 million processed orders and a partner fleet of 15,000 freelance couriers, and closed a $36 million Series A led by Impact46 — then the largest Saudi VC deal of the year.

COVID-19 pushed Saudi consumers online, and the Kingdom's food aggregators market grew at a 53% CAGR from 2018 to 2022. Jahez, described by its own annual report as the fastest-growing player by market share ahead of the offering, ran a three-day IPO in December 2021 on Nomu, the Saudi parallel market. Institutional demand reached 38.8x and retail 5.9x, and the final offer price was set at SAR 850 per share.

Listed on January 5, 2022 as the first homegrown Saudi startup on Nomu, at a market capitalization of about SAR 8.9 billion ($2.4 billion); still operating and expanding after the IPO.

Global aggregators leaned on third-party couriers, while Jahez owned last-mile delivery and built direct merchant relationships — a real wedge in Saudi cities.

COVID-19 accelerated Saudi delivery adoption, and Jahez, an early mover, claimed 3M users and 20M+ orders by mid-2020.

The Nomu IPO opened a rare public exit for a homegrown Saudi startup; 38.8x institutional demand showed local conviction in the thesis.

Listing turned Jahez into a national-champion story aligned with Vision 2030, funding expansion into groceries, cloud kitchens and regional markets.

A homegrown player can beat better-funded internationals by owning local logistics and merchant relationships; Jahez proved it in Saudi delivery and used the first startup IPO to fund expansion.

As of its January 5, 2022 listing, Jahez traded on Nomu under ticker 9526 at a market capitalization of about SAR 8.9 billion ($2.4 billion). Its stated plan was to use the roughly SAR 1.8 billion raised to accelerate regional expansion and diversify beyond food delivery into quick commerce, cloud kitchens and other verticals, and its 2022 annual report said much of the IPO proceeds were redirected to that expansion drive.