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Zest Your Equity | 2-October-2024

Zest Your Equity | 2-October-2024

The importance of product-market fit (PMF)

Ghalia from Zest
October 02, 2024

This week’s agenda 📜

What’s new? ✍️
Startup fundraising? 💰
What we’re reading 📖
Zest in the news

Let’s dive in 👇

What’s new?

Product-market fit (PMF)?

There is no single definition of product-market fit. Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz who is credited for originally drawing attention to this matter, said in his 2007 piece, “Product-market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.”

In practice, product-market fit means there is a real market demand for your product, and people are willing to purchase your product at the price it is offered. This is a sign that customers derive greater value from using it than the price of it or that it’s a better solution than alternatives on the market.

Product-market fit makes customer acquisition easier because existing customers tell their friends about your company, and new customers sign up. This is fundamentally the most important aspect of building a company.

Who’s Raising? 💰

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based mobility startup SHIFT has raised $82.8 million in investment from Merak Capital.
🇦🇪 UAE-based podcast distribution platform Podeo has raised a Series A of $5.4 million, led by Oraseya Capital, with participation from Ibtikar Fund, Cedar Mundi Ventures, Samarium, iSME, and returning investor Razor Capital.
🇩🇿 Algeria-based edtech LabLabee has raised $3.4 million in a Seed funding round, led by Reach Capital with contributions from Classera and supported by existing investors Brighteye Ventures and e& capital, along with business angels like Cedric Sellin and Mohammed Husamaddin.
🇦🇪 UAE-based climatetech Coral has closed a $3 million Seed round, led by a group of investors.
🇲🇦 Morocco-based SaaS provider Userguest has closed a $2.4 million Seed round, led by Al Mada Ventures and featuring CDG Invest, Saviu Ventures, UM6P Ventures, Kalys VC, Plug & Play, and esteemed business angels Philippe Limes and Thane Kuhlman.
🇰🇼 Kuwait-based e-commerce startup Bazzar Gate has raised $1 million from undisclosed investors.
🇲🇦 Morocco-based HRtech Kwiks has raised $827,000 in funding from Azur Innovation Management (AIM).

What We’re Reading 📖

Dubai Now Hosts Four Dozen $1-Billion-Plus Hedge Funds

Dubai has emerged as a hub for the world’s wealthiest people and some of the largest firms.

GCC sovereign wealth funds deploy $55 billion in first 9 months of 2024

During the first nine months of 2024, sovereign wealth funds in the GCC region deployed $55 billion in 126 different transactions. This

AI hardware, software market set to grow to $990 billion by 2027

The market for AI-related hardware and software is expected to grow between 40 percent and 55 percent annually

Abu Dhabi reports new record GDP of $80.86 billion, 4.1 percent increase in Q2 2024

The Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has published preliminary estimates indicating a 4.1 percent increase in the emirate's GDP

Pear wants to empower up-and-coming VCs with its new emerging managers in residence program

When seed-focused Pear VC raised a $432 million fund last year, the firm co-founder Pejman Nozad said that it meant his firm had reached its "own

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has been planning his comeback

A new Financial Times profile of Masayoshi Son opens with SoftBank's CEO seeming to hit bottom, staring at his “ugly” face on Zoom and telling himself, “I

Saudi Online Cosmetics Retailer Nice One Plans Local IPO

Saudi Arabian online cosmetics retailer Nice One is planning an initial public offering, joining a number of Middle Eastern technology startups planning share sales.

The world’s top startup cities

The list is based on a scoring system that uses PitchBook’s proprietary data on private companies. Development and growth scores are based on data related to deals, exits fundraising and other factors from the last six years.

Amplify Growth Partnership launches $100 million debt fund

Amplify Growth Partnership has launched a $100 million growth debt fund, which aims to provide debt capital to tech-focused...

www.wamda.com/2024/09/amplify-growth-partnership-launches-100-million-debt-fund

Zest in the news

We are excited to announce our participation in the 2024 Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab. We look forward to scaling our business, increasing our visibility, and networking with the broader Morgan Stanley community.

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