Zain Ventures, the newly formed venture capital arm of Kuwait’s biggest telecoms provider Zain Group, closed its first two investments in Dubai-based mass transit and shared mobility services provider Swvl and US FinTech start-up Pipe.
“We are extremely excited and confident that Zain Ventures’ first investments in fast-growing and world-leading entities in their respective industries, Pipe and Swvl, will be value-accretive to all parties,” said Bader Al Kharafi, Zain’s group chief executive and vice chairman.
The launch of Zain Ventures opens up more value-accretive opportunities in the global entrepreneurial start-up ecosystem
Bader Al Kharafi,
Zain’s group chief executive and vice chairman
Zain Group operates in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. It provides mobile services to more than 49.8 million active customers, the company said at the end of September last year.
Boursa Kuwait-listed Zain Ventures will complement its existing investment portfolio and “open the door to future investment opportunities … focusing on digital innovations in the fast-growing electronic services and start-up ecosystem”, the company said.
It is investing in Swvl through a $100 million agreement that is part of the start-up’s recently announced blank-cheque company merger.
Founded in 2017, Swvl allows commuters to reserve seats on private buses operating on fixed routes and pay fares through its mobile app. The start-up, which applies an Uber-like concept to mass transit, currently operates in 10 cities in Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The Cairo-born company is set to go public through a special purpose acquisition company in the fourth quarter of this year. It will become the second technology start-up from the Middle East to list on the Nasdaq stock market and the first from the region to attain a value of $1.5 billion, Swvl said last week.
“The enormous and relatively untapped entrepreneurial talents of the region are being showcased to the start-up ecosystem global community through this transaction that will see Swvl as the first more-than $1bn unicorn from the Middle East to list on Nasdaq,” said Malek Hammoud, chief investment and digital transformation officer of Zain.
Zain Ventures’ second investment is in US FinTech Pipe, which enables technology companies to receive their revenue upfront by pairing them with investors on a marketplace that pays a discounted rate for the annual value of those contracts.
Set up in June 2020, it raised $150m in a funding round earlier this year that valued the entity at $2bn. So far, more than 4,000 companies have signed up on its trading platform.
“Pipe is a start-up that is rewriting the rule book on FinTech development,” said Mr Hammoud. “We believe Pipe offers an incredible opportunity for capital appreciation and revenue growth and we look forward to participating in its continuing expansion as more clients are added to the platform.”
Saudi Telecom also has a $500m venture capital arm known as Saudi Technology Ventures that has backed various companies, including Careem, which was acquired by Uber, Tabby and Trukker.
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
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