Under the strategic alliance, Network will empower emaratech-owned noqodi’s existing payment channels

Fintech company noqodi has collaborated with Network International to expand digital payments offering that can cover various segments beyond just government and private sector services.

The partnership will enable the Dubai-based firm to provide micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with access to additional digital payment solutions while driving shared goal of boosting the UAE’s cashless economy, according to a press release.

Under the strategic alliance, Network will empower emaratech-owned noqodi’s existing payment channels like e-commerce, point of sale (POS), and software point of sale (SoftPOS) to accept card payments.

It will further introduce support to new unbanked segments, including retail and commerce.

General Manager at noqodi, Zahi Kallab, said: “Together with Network, and leveraging noqodi’s unique value proposition, we are committed to supporting MSMEs and simplifying their business operations with accessible and innovative digital payment solutions.”

Kallab added: “This alliance reinforces our dedication to advancing digital payments in line with Dubai’s vision of becoming a fully cashless economy.”

The fintech company is currently integrated with different banks and payment options that come under one payment platform for government and selected private merchants. This includes direct debit, online banking, and cash through partner exchange houses, besides full automation of collections, reconciliation, settlement, and transaction-related services.

Group Managing Director – Acquiring at Network, Andrew Key, said: “Digital payments are becoming more commonplace in the UAE with businesses of all sizes now shifting toward cashless transactions. Given this, there is a growing need for easily accessible innovative digital payment solutions that help simplify business operations.”

Key concluded: “Our partnership further reaffirms our commitment to boosting digital payments in the region in line with Dubai’s bid to become a fully cashless economy.”

Recently, Network joined forces with SerVme, a reservation and guest customer relationship management (CRM) platform for restaurants and hospitality operators, to endorse food and beverage (F&B) merchants in the UAE.

Source: Zawya

UAE-based crypto VC fund Illuminati Capital,  has raised $50 million for a fund that aims to invest in early-stage blockchain and Web3 gaming startups.

Founded by Vickaash Agrawal, Dhaval Parikh, Muhannad Abulhasan and Laura K. Inamedinova, Illuminati Capital aims to build a Web3 ecosystem, driving transformative shifts in decentralised technologies.

Illuminati Capital will focus on multiple verticals, including decentralised finance (DeFi), blockchain gaming, artificial intelligence, NFT infrastructure, and real-world assets (RWA).

Illuminati Capital has raised $50 million to invest in early-stage blockchain startups — including game companies. The hope is to bring its partners’ wealth of experience and expertise to the rapidly evolving Web3 arena.

The firm is based in Dubai and its partners have individually invested in blockchain startups worth over $1 billion, demonstrating impressive growth and valuation.

Setting itself apart from traditional investment firms, Illuminati Capital aims to offer more than just financial support. The venture capital firm is dedicated to building the global Web3 ecosystem and driving transformative shifts in decentralized technologies.

The team behind Illuminati Capital has collectively deployed $30 million, resulting in exits worth $150 million. The partners include blockchain investors, marketing experts, accomplished angel investors, and other talented individuals. The diverse backgrounds of the partners enable Illuminati Capital to provide targeted advice and actively engage with founders.

“We are witnessing a remarkable growth trajectory in Web3 venture investing,” said Vickaash Agrawal, partner at Illuminati Capital, in a statement. “With a track record of 120-plus successful blockchain investments in my investment portfolio, I will bring my expertise in data, infrastructure, regulation and mining.”

Illuminati Capital’s investment focus spans multiple verticals, including decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchain gaming, artificial intelligence, NFT infrastructure, and real-world assets (RWA). By strategically investing in pioneering sectors, Illuminati Capital aims to play a pivotal role in shaping the decentralized economy of the future.

“The possibilities of decentralized technology are endless,” said Dhaval Parikh, a partner at Illuminati Capital and blockchain investor with five-plus years of experience and a portfolio of leading Web3 high-end projects, in a statement. “With a background in VC, I will focus on due diligence, risk assessment, portfolio management, and deal flow while analyzing industry trends and key ecosystem insights.”

The firm’s partnership connections, coupled with its focus on Web3 companies backed by real-world assets, position Illuminati Capital to help portfolio companies grow. Illuminati Capital will provide hands-on assistance with listings, exchanges, business development, public relations, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and more to drive the success of its portfolio projects.

“By leveraging our trusted network and industry know-how, we commit to building a solid foundation for long-term success,” added Laura K. Inamedinova, a partner at Illuminati Capital and CEO of LKI Consulting, in a statement. “As a marketing expert with a portfolio of 250+ Clients, I will advise projects on community building, branding, positioning, marketing strategy, and user acquisition securing early-stage growth.”

Source: Wamda

UAE-based HRtech startup alfii has raised a pre-Seed funding round of $2.5 million, led by US-based venture capital firm, Preface Ventures, Kayan Ventures, UAE-based Aditum Ventures and Wayfinders, along with a collection of local and regional angel investors.

Founded in 2022 by Yousef Albarqawi, Becky Jefferies and Dina Mohammad-Laity, alfii aims to help growing businesses manage their HR workload and reduce time-consuming administrative work.

The recent funding round will support alfii’s plans to expand its team and continue building out its fintech-powered HR automation platform.

Press release:

Dubai-based tech startup alfii announces pre-seed funding of $2.5 million to expand its team and continue building out its fintech-powered HR automation platform. The round was led by Preface Ventures, a U.S.-based venture capital firm that focuses on infrastructure enterprise companies. Kayan Ventures, UAE-based Aditum Ventures and Wayfinders, along with a collection of local and regional angel investors also participated in the round.

Launched in Dubai in November 2022 by Yousef Albarqawi, Becky Jefferies and Dina Mohammad-Laity, alfii was created to help growing businesses manage their HR workload and break free from time-consuming administrative work—ultimately helping them create and deliver a better employee experience.

With sights set on creating the region’s most robust and comprehensive solution for HR and payroll, the team will use the funding to continue developing and enhancing its fintech-powered software platform.

The near-term focus is continuing to build out an innovative suite of payroll features that provide clients with smarter, faster ways to manage payroll and salary disbursements, drastically simplifying a process that is typically tedious and time-consuming for HR owners.

The startup will also invest heavily in engineering and product talent, building out a best-in-class team as it looks to expand the product feature set and optimize the user experience. With a strong focus on product-led growth, alfii will gradually roll out a pipeline of new features to address more core HR processes—like onboarding, time tracking, time off and leave management, and much more—ultimately covering the full employee lifecycle.‍

“We’re looking to build the next generation of this product class, and we’re building it entirely in-house—which means we need to bring on world-class talent to grow our business and better serve our customers,” said Yousef Albarqawi, alfii’s CEO and Co-founder.

Alfii’s progression is part of a bigger trend in the SaaS world towards adapting tools originally available to enterprises and making them accessible and suitable for small- to medium-sized businesses and startups. Yet when it comes to HR software in particular, many pain points have yet to be solved by existing solutions in the MENA region. ‍

“Data interoperability is an industry-wide challenge in the HR stack, but in developing regions like MENA, those challenges are further exacerbated by local and regulatory infrastructure,” said Farooq Abbasi, General Partner of Preface Ventures.

“With alfii's all-in-one software suite, companies will be able to better understand and manage their human capital resources while improving the user experience for employees with features like digital-to-cash remittances, benefits selection, and more. We’re thrilled to invest in a solution built by successful, mission-driven tech alumni.”

HR systems are more relevant and crucial than ever in the wake of major shifts in workforce dynamics, and that especially goes for growing teams with limited HR resources. Meanwhile, the MENA region is at an inflection point in terms of digitizing and automating business processes. "To date, many HR pain points have yet to be solved by existing solutions.

Based on feedback from some of alfii's early customers, it's clear that this platform is effectively addressing those pain points—and doing so with an easy-to-use interface in a wildly scalable format," said Yousef Nassar, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Kayan Ventures. “We are thrilled to be supporting the all-star team at alfii through this funding round.”

source: Wamda

Flyksoft, a UAE-based company that offers SAAS booking software for salons and spas, has successfully raised $55,000 in seed funding from angel investors. This funding will help the company achieve its mission of boosting brand awareness and media presence.

Flyksoft's innovative platform provides an all-in-one solution for managing salon and spa operations.

The software is designed to help businesses streamline their operations by offering features such as appointment bookings, point-of-sale, customer records management, marketing automation, integration with social media, loyalty programs, inventory management, and team management.

Flyksoft also plans to launch the first beta version of its SAAS booking software in May 2023 and will begin registering and onboarding clients from May onwards in the UAE and Gulf markets.

The company aims to be the first salon booking software to offer a competitive pricing range and monthly subscription model.

The first phase of the launch will include mobile apps for Android and iOS, a marketplace, CRM, a marketing module, an integration module, payment gateways, and staff and booking apps. In the second phase, Flyksoft will launch a website builder, accounting and finance and HR module.

Ibrahim, founder of Flyksoft has been working in the same industry for the last 15 years in the UAE and MENA region. He has worked with many technology partners and consulted with current market leaders in the same segment, providing valuable experience and insights to help build the company.

Flyksoft is excited to revolutionise the salon and spa industry by providing a complete solution to simplify business operations and enhance the customer experience.

With this seed funding, the company is poised to make a significant impact in the industry and provide an exceptional level of service to its clients.

Source: khaleej times

Saudi Arabia is expected to surpass the UAE in receiving foreign direct investment in 2023, for the first time since 2012, as both nations continue to be major beneficiaries of the inflow of funds, a recent industry report showed.

According to the Lumina Cross-Border insights report, FDI into Saudi Arabia and the UAE hit record highs with $40 billion in 2022, showing a rise of 58 percent over the previous year.  

“Key MENA projects driving FDI and UK-to-Middle East investment in 2023 will include infrastructure and engineering, tourism and hospitality, and clean/renewable energy, most notably, the megaprojects in Saudi Arabia,” stated the report.  

For instance, Saudi Arabia’s top seven infrastructure projects will cost $690 billion to construct. These schemes are NEOM, ROSHN, Diriyah Gate, Jeddah Central, Red Sea Project, AlUla, and Qiddiya.  

It added: “Regional presence for aspiring global firms to take advantage of such growth is now seen as a must rather than a nice-to-have.”

The report further predicted that the two-way investments between the Middle East and Europe will drive record FDI levels in 2023.

“As global corporates and funds increasingly set up roots in the region, with talent continuing to move in, 2023 is anticipated to be another record year for FDI in the Middle East.”

It said that deal-making is also expected to flourish due to a largely resilient regional-led global mergers and acquisitions environment last year.  

The report also predicts a significant change in existing partnerships in the region as firms in the UK will reassess joint ventures in the Middle East to determine their relevance today.

“2023 will be a tale of two halves, with H1 seeing highly active Middle East corporates and funds continuing to invest into European companies, as domestic markets continue to face varying levels of economic turbulence.

This will create a myriad of investment opportunities to diversify globally and gain access to best-in-class skills and talents,” said Andrew Nichol, partner at Lumina Capital Advisers.  

He added: “In H2 we anticipate improving sentiment across developed markets, which will drive global demand for natural resources, oil included. The region is extremely well positioned for yet another strong year ahead.”

source: Arab News

Higher repayment rates are not yet a widespread deterrent, but budgets are affected, and some are shifting to cash or speeding up transactions to beat rate hikes

Rising interest rates are not yet a widespread deterrent for UAE mortgage customers, although some brokers have noticed rising cash transactions and a trend towards buyers moving faster to secure the lowest payments possible.

Real estate agents and mortgage brokers said that the majority of customers are now looking to fix their mortgage rates rather than remain at the mercy of further interest rate rises.

Morgan’s Realty said it had seen around 50% of mortgage home buyers taking fixed rate mortgage rates in 2021, compared with around 90% in 2022 as fixed rate deals are now averaging 4.49%.

Rates were as low as 2.39% in 2021, Morgan’s said, with customers at that point fixing their rates for three years.

Cash deals

In its most recent market report on Dubai real estate, Morgan’s reported a much higher proportion of cash transactions as the year progressed.

In Q2 2022 and Q3 2022, the agency reported 8,629 and 8,469 cash transactions and 4,801 and 5,254 mortgage transactions respectively.

In the first quarter, the figures were much closer, with 4,564 cash transactions and 4,461 mortgage transactions, the report showed.

For online mortgage broker Huspy, there has been a noticeable surge in people looking to secure mortgages as rates rise, with the most recent increase in applications being 25% month-on-month.

Sawan Karia, head of Huspy’s broker channel, said the increase could partially be attributed to its own increase in market share, but also rising interest rates.

UAE has competitive rates

UAE banks are required by the Central Bank of the UAE to revise offers based on current interest rates, said Karia, with more interest rate hikes expected before the end of 2022.

“On average, mortgage rates are at 4.5% as compared to 2.5% last year. However, the UAE still has competitive rates as compared to a number of other global property markets. Policy makers have played a positive role in balancing market stability with growing demand for property ownership,” he said.

Karia noted the difference in mortgage payments for a customer taking out a fixed rate mortgage now on an AED 2 million property compared to last year, which would be AED2,000 per month. However, the return on investment of 5-8% means buying a home is still a preferred option for those wanting a stable asset amid financial uncertainty, he said.

Rosie Patterson, Better Homes LLC’s mortgage channel partner, said mortgage applications had increased month-on-month and year-on-year, with Q3 2022 up 80% on Q2 2021 and 33% on Q2 2022.

“We have experienced banks changing rates with shorter notice than they used to. However, this is the new normal for us, and we are getting clients to understand the situation and secure properties quicker, as we know rates might change,” she said.

There has been less interest in remortgaging, Patterson said, as the rate rises impact cost effectiveness.

For mortgage consultant Graham Brown of MENA mortgage matters, affiliated to Dubai-based broker haus & haus, Q1 and Q2 2022 saw consistent applications, with a 10% QoQ increase in Q2, while Q3 decreased by 15%

Anecdotally, rate increases did start to deter some buyers from February, but rising rents convinced others into buying, he said, adding that exchange rates for the euro and pound against the dollar are also a consideration.

“The biggest barrier to entry is the cash amount required,” he said, “and of course if your funds are in GBP or EURO then they have taken a hit, which may mean that clients can’t buy at the level required.

“Some are simply reducing their budgets accordingly or waiting until there is a return to some normality. Obviously if your funds are held in US dollar then there’s been no change.”

Source: Zawya

UAE-based fintech Pyypl, has raised a $20 million Series B round from a group of international investors and ten of its existing investors.

Founded in 2017 by Antti Arponen, Pyypl is a payment technology company and financial services provider using blockchain in its core systems.

The latest round will enable the company to further expand its reach across the Middle East and Africa, as well as invest in product development.

This latest round brings Pyypl’s total investment raised to $40 million.

Press release:

Pyypl – pronounced “People” – the Middle East and Africa (MEA) focused financial services platform and Hub71 company has closed its target Series B raise of $20 million from a diverse group of international investors and ten existing investors. Pyypl is considering opening a second tranche for further investment due to interest from investors.

Since its inception in 2017, Pyypl has raised almost $40 million and the Series B raise will enable the Company to further expand its reach across the MEA region. Product development will also be a key focus, with Pyypl 2.0 building out new features of the company’s proprietary technology platform to enhance user experience and facilitate scaling in current and new markets.

Led by an experienced management team with a proven track record in the region, Pyypl is one of the fastest-growing fintech in MEA. It has already seen great traction since its Series A just a year ago, growing over four times in terms of user numbers, transaction volumes and revenues. Pyypl operates at a healthy gross margin showing that fintech can grow sustainably.

Pyypl has established key partnerships that have taken years to develop in order to be part of a financial ecosystem required to meet demand across. These include Visa, a number of payment gateway partners, Ripple and Binance to name a few. Based in Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, Pyypl is gaining access to its network of partners, and benefiting from its business-friendly environment and strong talent base.

With its proprietary technology, experienced management team and unique multi-product, pan-regional approach Pyypl is in the right sector, in the right geography at the right time.

Antti Arponen, co-founder and CEO of Pyypl, commented: “We welcome our new investors and appreciate the further investment from our existing shareholders in support of our financial inclusion journey. We have grown significantly since our Series A round and are excited to enter the next phase of growth and capability. This is just the beginning.”

Pyypl’s purpose-driven approach offers key financial services in one app for the 800 million financially underserved smartphone users across Africa and the Middle East, via internationally accepted virtual and physical prepaid cards, instant domestic and international user-to-user transfers as well as remittances to 38 currency destinations. Pyypl has a strong pipeline of additional products.

Source: Wamda

The agreement intends to provide digital transformation value-added services to ADDA and Abu Dhabi government entities through Cisco’s Country Digital Transformation programme.

The Department of Government Support, represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), has signed a framework agreement with Cisco at GITEX Global 2022.

The agreement intends to provide digital transformation value-added services to ADDA and Abu Dhabi government entities through Cisco’s Country Digital Transformation (CDA) programme.

The CDA programme is aligned with the national agenda of the UAE to transform the country’s economic model towards sustainable growth by transitioning towards a digital economy. It aims to support digitisation efforts across various key industry sectors, fostering digital skills, and developing the innovation ecosystem in the country to achieve the UAE Centennial 2071 vision of digital transformation.

Within the framework agreement, Cisco is supporting the government's focus on cybersecurity – being one of the critical national sectors in the UAE and is collaborating with ADDA to create value-added initiatives to drive the Authority’s security strategy agenda for the Abu Dhabi government.

Dr. Mohamed Abdel Hameed Al Askar, Director-General of ADDA, said, “Through the ADDA-Cisco framework agreement, we continue to identify strategic pathways to strengthen, streamline and accelerate the digital transformation of Abu Dhabi. We remain focused on exploring more constructive collaborations that will aid the strategic growth of Abu Dhabi’s digital agenda.”

Mansoor Al Marzouqi, Executive Director of the Strategic Planning Sector at ADDA, said, “Enhancing the digital capabilities across Abu Dhabi Government entities is fundamental to what we do at ADDA. Our vision is to enable the digital transformation of all Abu Dhabi government entities, using emerging technologies and delivering pioneering government services and solutions.

Our partnership with Cisco will reinforce our commitment to creating a world-class digital ecosystem in Abu Dhabi enabled by innovative digital solutions which will unlock efficiencies at scale.”

Abdelilah Nejjari, Managing Director – Gulf region, Cisco, said, “We are delighted to sign the framework agreement with the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority. Through our CDA programme, we are proud to play a role in the national digitalisation agenda and create new value for the UAE, its businesses and residents.

Through the CDA programme, Cisco, in collaboration with ADDA, will arrange knowledge transfer webinars and events for Abu Dhabi government entities along with granting access to their full suite of digital transformation technologies, products, and services.

source: zawya

VUZ, a social app that allows users to stream and experience immersive realism in extended reality (XR) and metaverse digital experiences, has raised $20 million in Series B investment.

Investors in the round include Caruso Ventures, Vision VC Fund, e& capital (investment pillar of e&, formerly known as Etisalat Group), DFDF (Dubai Future District Fund), WIN (Webit Investment Network), SRMG, Elbert Capital, Yasta Partners, Faith Capital and Panthera Capital. Seven existing investors participated as well.

The Dubai-based VUZ says that this round, which has seen it onboard a mix of U.S.- and EMEA-based investors, will be pivotal to its international expansion.

Founder and chief executive officer Khaled Zaatarah launched VUZ, formerly 360VUZ, as a platform to bridge the gap between physical and virtual worlds by offering premium immersive content to a global audience. According to Zaatarah, VUZ’s vision is to connect people by providing “authentic, immersive experiences while removing the constraints of travel, time, and access.”

The platform offers more than 20,000 hours of content covering entertainment, creators, sports and XR, VR and AR experiences virtually anywhere in the world.

Users can access and engage different content — in addition to those mentioned above, live events, concerts, celebrity interviews and masterclasses, through its 360-degree live streams — by downloading VUZ’s iOS and Android apps. About 70% of its content is free and VUZ monetizes by showing ads to users in this category; on the other hand, users must pay between $4-8 for its exclusive content.

The company is planning to allow users access content via different media: Meta/Oculus headsets, Qualcomm, immersive avatars and a web platform, Zaatarah said to TechCrunch.

The web3 platform claims to have reached over 1 billion screen views from more than 10 million users since its launch. Over 44% of these views come from the Middle East, 32% from the U.S. and 24% from Egypt. VUZ said it aims to reach 3 billion views in 2023 and double its user base 2x yearly.

Creators’ immersive content collaborations have also been a core driver for VUZ content, where its top creators get over 100 million views globally.

The funds will be used to fuel these plans, including improving its 10% month-on-month recurring revenue growth, investing in content, hiring additional senior hires, new social features, launching web3 products and NFT projects and scaling with asset-light operations into eight new international markets.

The investment will also see VUZ scale its Los Angeles office and scale with creators and content in the U.S., Asia and Europe.

source: Tech Crunch

Dubai-based startup Stake is offering retail investors from across the globe the opportunity to buy fractions of rental property in UAE’s marquee city and earn regular income. The startup, founded in 2020, claims that because of Dubai’s real estate rules it has managed to attract investing users on the platform from more than 80 countries in the world.

The company, founded by Manar Mahmassani, Rami Tabbara and Ricardo Brizido in 2020, has raised $8 million in a pre-Series A round from investors like BY Ventures, MEVP and Vivium Holdings to expand its portfolio and launch in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The company first raised a $4 million seed round last year.

“This round is a testament to what we are building at Stake and our mission to bring access and liquidity to the oldest, largest, and most sought-after asset class in the world. The proceeds will allow us to expand into Saudi Arabia and Egypt, continue attracting the best talent to the team, and cement Stake’s position as the category leader in the MENA region,” Mahmassani said in a written statement.

Tabbara told TechCrunch over a call that after being in the real estate business for more than 15 years, he realized a lot of people want to invest in the MENA region but can’t afford to put in large chunks of money without paying huge commissions to brokers and developers. So he wanted to accelerate the process of investing in real estate with Stake.

The firm says it lists premium properties on its platform that are already on rent. To acquire a property, Stake looks at factors like location, build quality, view and if it has tenants. Tabbara said if the property is not rented, the company uses its data to list properties that could be rented out quickly. Stake has paid over AED 1 million ($272,249) in rental income to investors, which is credited every month.

Stake currently manages more than 44 properties with a combined value of AED 56 million ($17.9 million). The company claims that it has achieved an average 17% monthly growth rate in both investors and assets under management (AUM).

“Our platform currently boasts 42,000 registered users and more than 2,100 active investors on the platform. While we have users from many countries on the site, folks from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the U.K. and India are our top five investor bases,” Tabbara said.

Users can quickly register with the platform and invest from as low as AED 500 ($136). Because of Dubai’s investment rules individual investors can only invest up to AED 183,500 ($50,000) per year. The proptech company also limits maximum ownership by a single investor in a property to 33% to evenly spread out gains.

The firm doesn’t rely on financing to acquire homes. All the money to purchase a property comes from the investors. While Dubai’s property rule allows for partial deeds, there’s a cap of four investors, so Stake creates a special purpose vehicle for each property to facilitate deed registration. All properties usually have an investment term of five periods, but a house’s value goes up 30% in the market, and the investors can vote to sell it.

Stake’s business model relies on various fees. When investors purchase a property, the company charges them 1.5% with an additional 0.5% charged annually for maintenance. Plus, there are 0.2% Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-money laundering fees up front and 0.1% annually from the second year of the term. The company also charges investors 2.5% as an exit fee when they sell their stake. What’s more, if the property is sold at a higher rate than its acquisition, Stake takes a 15% cut from the profit. The company is not profitable yet but has achieved 470% year-on-year growth in terms of revenue.

In the next 12 months, apart from launching its platform in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the company also wants to build a second-day trading platform, where investors can sell their stake in a property to other investors. Stake is focusing on launching a way to let people invest in vacation properties that go on platforms like Airbnb — something that platforms like Komoco and Here are trying in the U.S.

In the local market, Stake’s closest competitor is SmartCrowd, which raised a $3 million bridge round in June. Tabbara claims that his company has already surpassed SmartCrowd when it comes to AUM.

“We are banking on our team, technology and experience in dealing with different properties to become the most prominent real estate investment platform in the Middlel East and North Africa (MENA) region,” he said.

Source: Techcrunch