COFE Tech adds Phoenix Venture Partners backing after pre-IPO round

RIYADH — COFE Tech has taken an undisclosed strategic follow-on investment from Phoenix Venture Partners, the ADGM-based firm, with co-investors including KSH Investments, the private department of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan. Phoenix Venture Partners founder Steve Khayat joins the COFE Tech board.

The round is a separate event from the company's pre-IPO raise closed in September at a $178 million valuation. COFE Tech, founded in Kuwait in 2018 and now headquartered in Riyadh, sells procurement and commerce software to more than 1,000 business clients across 3,000 outlets in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, counting Emirates, Etihad and Al-Futtaim among them.

The company is targeting a Saudi Exchange listing by 2029, and board-level backers fit that runway. Strategic follow-ons between a priced pre-IPO round and a listing typically tidy the cap table and add governance rather than fund operations, which is what an undisclosed cheque at this stage usually signals.

Watch for further pre-IPO placements and the appointment of listing advisers as the 2029 window approaches. Wamda first reported the investment.