Ahmad Al Zaini, Co-founder and CEO, Foodics

A serial entrepreneur by nature, Foodics is actually Al Zaini’s third venture. Before conceptualising FOODICS in 2014, he observed a lack of technology in the food and beverage (F&B) sector in 2014, particularly in the ordering process and many other operational challenges. Together with his co-founder, he consequently built on the idea to develop a tech stack over time and create a fully integrated ecosystem. Under Al Zaini’s leadership, FOODICS has grown to become the leading cloud-based technology and payments platform for restaurants in the MENA region, with more than 500 employees and eight offices spanning Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and The Netherlands. Al Zaini was selected as a high-impact entrepreneur by Endeavor Global in 2018 and also received the Forbes award for Entrepreneurs Shaping Saudi Arabia’s Future in 2015. Before Foodics, he co-founded his first startup, Alwans, in February 2010. The business develops apps as well as investment opportunities for other startups. In 2012, Al Zaini graduated in electrical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. He joined an executive program of entrepreneurship/entrepreneurial studies at Harvard Business school in 2019. In 2020, Al Zaini completed a short program on organizational leadership from THNK School of Creative Leadership . He has been a member of the delivery applications committee of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce since October 2020.