Zest Your Equity | 9-July-2025

This week’s agenda 📜

• Zest terms and concepts ✍️

• Who’s raising? 💰

• M&A activity 💼

• What we’re reading 📖

Let’s dive in 👇

Terms and concepts ✍️

Power law: A statistical distribution where a small number of outcomes account for the vast majority of results. In venture capital, the power law means that one or two investments often drive nearly all of a fund’s returns.

Pro rata: A contractual right that allows existing investors in a company to maintain their ownership percentage in future funding rounds. In venture, pro rata is an important tool for doubling down on high-growth companies and maintaining exposure to the few winners that will ultimately drive fund-level returns.

Returning the fund: In venture capital, “returning the fund” means a single investment generates enough profit to pay back the entire fund’s committed capital (i.e., “power law” returns) before accounting for any other deals.

Because the majority of portfolio companies will either shut down or exit at a modest price, a fund’s success often hinges on one or two outliers that can “return the fund.” When an investment “returns the fund,” it offsets every loss and puts the entire portfolio in the black.

For example, a $200M fund that owns 15% of a startup needs that startup to exit at around $1.5B+ just to return the fund, assuming no dilution. This math drives how venture firms think about ownership targets, follow-on participation, and opportunity selection. It’s not about targeting a bunch of good outcomes. It’s about investing in companies that can be the next breakout star.

Who’s raising? 💰

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based q-commerce Ninja has raised $250 million in a funding round led by Riyad Capital, reaching a $1.5B valuation and achieving unicorn status.

• 🇦🇪 Huspy, the UAE and Spain-based proptech company, has raised $59 million in a Series B round led by Balderton Capital, with participation from Peak XV, ExBorder Partners, Turmeric Capital, BY Ventures, Dara Management, and KE Partners.

• 🇸🇦 PetroApp, a Saudi-based digital payments platform for fuel and vehicle services, has raised $50 million in a funding round. 

• 🇮🇶 Iraq’s InstaBank secured USD 15 million in a funding round to support the bank’s launch and early-stage growth. The round included a USD 3 million investment from EQIQ, a venture capital fund.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based digital freight network TruKKer has secured a $15 million private credit investment from Ruya Partners, through its flagship Ruya Private Capital I fund.

• 🇦🇪 UAE and US-based healthtech BioSapien has extended its pre-Series A round to over $8 million, adding Globivest to its list of backers, alongside Global Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, and Dara Holdings.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based SaaS startup Rekaz has raised $5 million in seed funding to expand its operating system for service businesses. The round was led by COTU Ventures, with participation from Impact46, Shorooq Partners, Numrah Capital, and angel investors.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based platform Flawless has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding, backed by unnamed angel investors focused on early-stage innovation.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based icogz, a business intelligence platform, has raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding from angel investors in the UAE and India.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based RWA tokenisation platform Byzanlink has closed a $1 million private funding round backed by Outlier Ventures, NTDP Saudi Arabia, Smart IT Frame, Sensei Capital, and other angel investors.

M&A activity 💼

• EFG Hermes advises on $190m investment in Alameda to fuel regional expansion. Source.

• OMV sees $141m profit boost from Borouge-Borealis merger in Q2. Source.

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