The Commercial Court in Riyadh has opened financial reorganisation proceedings for Central Markets Co., the operating entity behind Nana, the Saudi grocery delivery platform that raised approximately $208 million across five funding rounds and was once one of the most heavily capitalised startups in the Kingdom. Bankruptcy trustee Majed bin Munir Al-Nimr has called on all creditors to submit their claims within 90 days.
Nana was co-founded in 2016 by Sami Alhelwah (CEO) and Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, initially as an online grocery marketplace connecting consumers with supermarkets like Panda, Carrefour, Spar and Farm Superstores across Saudi cities.
Alsukhan, a serial entrepreneur who had previously co-founded Habli, a grocery delivery logistics provider that Nana acquired in 2017, left the company and went on to co-found BNPL unicorn Tamara in late 2020 alongside Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Al Babtain.
The company later expanded into dark store operations through its NanaExpress service, promising 15-minute grocery delivery, alongside NanaHyper for larger weekly and monthly shops with over 40,000 SKUs. At its peak, the company said it had delivered more than 45 million orders, operated across 13 Saudi cities and employed more than 600,000 delivery drivers.
The company's funding history reflects a rapid scaling trajectory. MEVP and Impact46 co-led a $6.6 million Series A in February 2019, with SVC and Wamda Capital participating. STV and MEVP co-led an $18 million Series B in March 2020, with Watar Partners, SVC and Wamda returning. In February 2022, FIM Partners and STV led a $50 million round that also brought in Jahez, Sunbulah Group and Quencia Capital, taking total funding to approximately $80 million. The largest round came in February 2023, when Kingdom Holding led a $133 million Series C alongside Uni Ventures (a subsidiary of Orascom Investment Group), Sultan Holding, Al-Jasser Holding, Red Diamond, Dallah Al-Baraka Group and AlJammaz Holding. That round was one of the largest ever for a Saudi startup at the time.
The financial reorganisation comes as Saudi Arabia's delivery and quick commerce market has become one of the most competitive in the world. The landscape shifted dramatically after Meituan's Keeta entered the Kingdom in September 2024 with a planned SAR 1 billion investment.
Jahez, the Tadawul-listed market leader with approximately 32% of online delivery orders, responded by partnering with noon to create a combined delivery network and investing in quick commerce platform Doos.
Egypt's Rabbit entered Saudi Arabia with a new Riyadh headquarters, and Careem launched grocery delivery in the capital through Careem Market.
Keeta itself launched Keemart, a 15-minute grocery delivery service in Riyadh, competing directly with Nana's core proposition.
Nana had been signalling a push toward profitability and diversification in its final months of public activity. In October 2024, the company acquired Rasseed, a digital gift card platform, with CEO Alhelwah describing the move as critical to achieving profitability targets and ensuring sustainability. Alhelwah had previously stated ambitions for Nana to capture 40% of Saudi Arabia's online grocery market by the end of 2026, a market that had grown from approximately $100 million in 2017 to $1.2 billion by 2023.
Financial reorganisation under Saudi bankruptcy law is distinct from liquidation and is designed to allow companies to restructure their obligations while continuing operations. The 90-day creditor claims window suggests the process is in its early stages. Neither Nana nor its investors have publicly commented on the proceedings.
