Zest Your Equity | 27-March-2024

This week’s agenda 📜

• Our blog ✍️

• Startup fundraising 💰

• M&A activity 💼

• What we’re reading 📖

• Zest updates 🚨

Let’s dive in 👇

Our Blog ✍️

Why Communication is Important for Running a Successful Investment Business

A manager’s communication strategy with their investors is a key component to running a successful investing business.

In part, this is because investing in the private markets is a relationship business. There is no widely accessible “stock exchange” for buying and selling shares of pre-IPO companies. Instead, investors need to trust a manager to source, choose, and win allocations in the best deals at the best prices.

So, what does a great communication strategy look like? We discuss this and more in our latest blog post.

Who’s Raising? 💰

• 🇧🇭 Bahrain-based loyalty programme, Ahlan App has raised a $3 million investment at a valuation of $15 million, led by Hope Ventures, along with Al Rajhi Holdings and other angel investors.

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based edtech Sprints.ai has raised a $3 million bridge round, led by Disruptech Ventures, with investments from EdVentures and CFYE, among other investors. 

• 🇲🇦 Morocco-based fintech Tookeez has secured $1.5 million in a funding round led by Azur Innovation Fund.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based device as a service (DaaS) provider Zetta Technologies has closed a $1.5 million pre-Seed round led by Core Vision.

• 🇲🇦 Morocco-based superapp ORA Technologies secured $1.5 million in seed funding from local entrepreneurs.

• 🇹🇳 Tunisia-born and UAE-headquartered AI startup ClusterLab has raised $600,000 in a pre-Seed funding round from regional investors, including Karim Beguir.

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based healthtech Pharmacy Marts has raised a six-figure bridge round, led by Acasia Ventures.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based foodtech startup Barakah has raised an undisclosed funding round from German-based VC FoodLabs, marking its first investment in a Mena-based startup

M&A Activity 💼

• Egypt-based fintech MNT-Halan has acquired Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank. Source.

• US-based and Mena-focused edtech Classera has acquired Saudi Arabia-based ERP system “Expert Solutions” for information technology. Source.

• Saudi Arabia-based business development company T2 has acquired Omani customer data analysis company Promize for an unknown amount. Source.

• Germany-based marketing technology provider (martech) Mitgo Group has acquired the UAE-based embedded finance platform “Embedded” for an undisclosed value. Source.

• Bahrain sovereign wealth fund buys out McLaren Group. Source.

• Saudi Arabian media conglomerate MBC Group, through its MBC Ventures arm, has purchased 4,074,533 ordinary shares in music streaming app, Anghami, giving it a 13.7% ownership stake in the Nasdaq-listed company. Source.

Want to learn more? Schedule a time with our team below!