Savola launches program for investment in innovative food tech

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Savola Group launched its corporate venture capital program to invest in innovative and disruptive technologies and opportunities in the food and retail space regionally and globally.

The first investment is in Lyve, a tech-enabled last-mile logistics digitization platform based in GCC, in which Savola led a series B investment round, the group said in a statement published by Zawya.

Meanwhile, the second investment is the 100% acquisition of Libab, an e-grocery pureplay based in Saudi Arabia, which was rebranded as PandaClick in 2020.

Both transactions were funded from internal cashflows at attractive valuations.

CEO Waleed Fatani said the program focuses on offering opportunities for companies in Savola's operating portfolio to benefit from innovative business models and maintain their edge while allowing the group to allocate capital directly or indirectly for digital and new innovative models in its core segments.

“The corporate venture program will be dedicated to support companies in series A and B that could benefit from our knowledge of the regions we operate in,” Fatani noted, adding that Savola is able to work with its operating companies on new business models within the digital economy.