Zest Your Equity | 22-January-2024

This week’s agenda 📜

• STEP Dubai 2025 partnership

• Who’s raising? 💰

• M&A activity 🤝

• What we’re reading 📖

• Our latest resource ✍️

Let’s dive in 👇

Who’s raising? 💰

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based proptech Rize has closed a Series A investment round worth $35 million in a mix of equity and debt. 

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based AI-powered networking platform Halo AI closed a $6 million Seed funding round, led by Raed Ventures and Shorooq, along with other investors.

• 🇪🇬 Egyptian fintech MoneyHash has secured $5.2 million in pre-Series A funding.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based agritech Arable has closed a $2.6 million Seed funding round, led by undisclosed investors.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based interior design marketplace Revie has raised a $2.5 million Seed funding round led by Sanabil Venture Studio by Stryber.

• 🇵🇸 Palestinian-Dutch company TAP has raised $1 million in investment, led by Invest International in the Netherlands, besides other contributions from a group of impact angel investors.

• 🇴🇲 Oman-based SaaS provider Sampo AI has closed its pre-seed funding round, securing $750,000 co-led by Omantel Innovation Labs and Waad VC, with participation from Hexnture and a group of Saudi angel investors. 

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based contech Opteam has raised an undisclosed pre-Seed round, led by Plus VC, with participation from Dar Ventures, SIAC Ventures and Oraseya Capital.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based remittances fintech Jingle Pay has raised funding from Bank Alfalah, a Pakistan-based bank, for a 9.9% stake. 

M&A activity

• Egypt-based fintech Raseedi has acquired Kashat, which in its role owns Pharos Microfinance S.A.E., a subsidiary of Kashat, in an equity deal to broaden its product offerings and introduce instant loans.

Our latest resource ✍️

When a private market M&A transaction occurs, it may seem that the buyer and seller of the target company easily agree on the business’s valuation. 

After all, we’ve all seen headlines that read, “Company X acquired by [insert buyer name] for $250M.”

However, settling on a valuation is far from simple. Each party typically has their own interpretation of what the business is worth—sellers may be overly optimistic with their valuation, while buyers want to pay the lowest price. To address this challenge, buyers and sellers often use what’s called an “earnout”— a contractual mechanism that can help bridge the gap between what a buyer is willing to pay for a business and what the seller is willing to sell for.

Read our latest resource to learn everything you need to know about an earnout agreement.

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