Real estate fintech platform Stake raises USD 8 million in pre-series A funding round

This follows a USD 4 million seed round that the company closed back in June 2021, bringing their total funds raised to over USD 12 million.

Backed by some of the region’s leading venture capital investors, MEVP and BY Ventures, and participation from returning investors Vivium Holding and Combined Growth Real Estate, the funding marks the largest capital raising by a real estate investment platform in the MENA region.

With a base of 42,000 users from over 80 countries and 150 nationalities, Stake plans to invest this new capital in promoting the product and technology, scaling up the brand and expanding the business in the region with the vision of enabling a borderless, fluid and accessible market for quality investments in property.

The company expects to continue to drive growth in the platform as regional investors flock to real estate for stability in today’s volatile global markets. This has seen Stake record an average 17% monthly growth in both investors and Assets Under Management (AUM), and 500% overall growth in AUM in the last 12 months alone.

Rami Tabbara, Manar Mahmassani and Ricardo Brizido, co-founders of Stake commented: “Investors in the region and beyond deserve a more transparent, digital-friendly way to invest in real estate. This round is a testament to our mission on efforts to bring access and liquidity to the oldest, largest and most sought-after asset class in the world. The proceeds will allow us to continue to attract the best talent to the team and cement Stake’s position as a category leader in the MENA region.”

The region’s real estate boom has motivated Stake to enter two more markets by Q1 2023: Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The startup aims to lead the Kingdom’s proactive investors and encourage young Egyptians to tap into the fast-growing asset class being created in their home markets.

Stake currently has over 30 team members and is targeting to recruit new talent and double team size in its expansion markets. The startup will provide investors with more liquidity and democratize the real estate asset class, as the region demands a better real estate investment journey for its population of over 400 million, saving upwards of $500 billion a year.

Riyad Abou Jaoudeh, Partner at MEVP says: “We believe the future of real estate investing is digital, fractional and seamless. The team at Stake has enabled thousands to become real estate investors and we are excited to partner with them as they scale in MENA .”

Despite global tensions and rising inflation concerns in the region, the UAE real estate market continues to flourish, with Q2 2022 witnessing the highest quarterly sales volume and more than 22.5,000 transactions valued at USD 16.1 billion. As such, the property industry emerges as one of the top five sub-sectors by deal value in the Middle East, ranked alongside consumer products, banking and capital markets, asset management and transport.

Abdallah Yafi, Founder and Managing Partner of BY Ventures added: “We are delighted to welcome Stake to the BY portfolio and to partner with such an incredible team led by Rami, Manar and Ricardo in their mission-driven journey to build the target. fractional real estate investment platform in MENA We are proud of their early success in the UAE and excited about the potential in the wider MENA region We have great faith in the execution capabilities of the Stake team and their ability to build a dominant business while focusing on delivering profitable growth.”

Stake has grown from strength to strength since the launch of the Middle East’s first fractional real estate mobile application in March 2022. On a mission to empower everyone to own and build wealth through real estate, Stake aims to grow its active investor base tenfold, and became category leader in KSA and UAE.

Elie Khouri, founder of Vivium Holding, further commented: “We believe that property investment is at the heart of any wealth building strategy and we continue to stand behind Stake as they democratize property ownership across the region.”