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Floward, founded in 2017, offers same-day delivery for fresh-cut flowers
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The firm also announced an expansion to the UK late last year
A small online flower and gift delivery firm, Floward, has attracted quite a bit of attention in the financial circles of the Middle East by raising nearly $28 million in funding from well-known venture capital firms like STV and Impact46.
Floward, founded in 2017, offers same-day delivery for fresh-cut flowers and gifts to all countries in the GCC. The firm also announced an expansion to the UK late last year, offering its delivery service in London. The company now operates in 20 cities across seven countries with a team of over 450. It said its revenues for the first 100 days of 2021 have exceeded the whole of last year.
“Since our launch four years ago, we have been on a clear and rapid growth path that was further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic as e-commerce penetration saw a huge surge during the past year,” said the founder of the firm Abdulaziz Al-Loughani.
“These circumstances presented to us clear opportunities and accelerated our growth plans in the MENA region and beyond, specifically into London, UK – our first expansion outside the region,” he added.
A venture capital boom in the Gulf is helping to fund a swathe of e-commerce and technology-focused startups with Saudi Arabia emerging as a major source of funding for emerging entrepreneurs across the region. STV is the Middle East’s largest venture capital firm.
Impact 46 also participated in the funding round, the company said in a statement on Sunday.