• Nana

  Participated · Series A · Oct 2024

  Dastgyr is a demand-led B2B marketplace launched in 2020 that connects retailers with suppliers, manufacturers and wholesalers to enable wholesale ordering and next-day delivery. The platform offers a sellers app for product uploads, pricing and purchase orders while buyers use the marketplace to order inventory. Dastgyr expanded beyond FMCG into electronics, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, raw materials and construction materials. It uses a cross-docking, asset-light fulfilment model to move goods quickly and offers Shariah-compliant lending services for largely unbanked or underbanked sellers and buyers. The company targets Pakistan’s ~2 million SMBs and the broader SMB market opportunity cited at around $150 billion in value. Following the raise, Dastgyr plans further geographic expansion and to broaden fintech offerings while investing in technology and people.

• Podeo

  Participated · Series A · Sep 2024

  Podeo is a UAE-based podcast distribution and creator platform offering end-to-end production tools (editing, sound design, branding, mixing), hosting, and programmatic ad insertion. The app enables creators to mark notes and receive a polished, ready-for-distribution episode within 24 hours. Podeo does not charge listeners a subscription fee and plans to eliminate creator subscription packages, instead relying on advertising and exploring memberships, tipping, and tokenization as monetization paths. The company has onboarded more than 100,000 creators in under two years and reached a subscriber base of 50 million. Podeo has formed partnerships with radio stations, the Jawaker game app, and in-flight entertainment provider Anuvu to distribute content across decentralized channels. The company came to life in 2020, relocated to Dubai, and plans to expand into Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. Podeo is a Lebanon-based mobile app that offers the largest podcast catalogue in the Arab world, localizing the audio experience with popular shows in Arabic and English. Founded in 2019, the company operates recording studios and offices in Beirut. It experienced a 48% drop in downloads and streams in 2020 but rebounded, reporting 700% growth in listens in Q2 of last year. Podeo raised an undisclosed Seed round led by Razor Capital with co-investment from Globivest VC and other investors; the funding will be used to widen accessibility to Arabic listeners. Management says the funds will strengthen Podeo's leading position in the Arab podcast industry and double down on growth. After the August Beirut explosion damaged its studios and offices, Podeo enabled listeners and creators to publish audio snippets that were heard by more than seven million people across 157 countries.

• Taurus

  Participated · Series B · Feb 2023

  Taurus provides enterprise-grade infrastructure to issue, custody and trade digital assets — including cryptocurrencies with staking, tokenized assets and digital currencies — and operates a regulated marketplace for private assets and tokenized securities. The company serves the full spectrum of financial institutions, working with more than 25 financial institutions and corporate clients across eight countries and three continents, including banks such as Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Pictet and Arab Bank Switzerland. Taurus focuses on the banking segment and is entrusted by systemic banks, universal banks, online banks, crypto-banks, private banks, investment banks and broker-dealers. The company plans to use recent funding to hire engineering talent to further develop its platform and to expand its sales and customer-success organizations. Taurus intends to open new offices in Europe and the UAE, followed by the Americas and Southeast Asia, to get closer to clients. It also plans to maintain stringent security, risk and compliance requirements across product lines, processes and the organization.

• Dastgyr Technologies

  Participated · Series A · Jun 2022

  Dastgyr is a Pakistan-based B2B e-commerce marketplace led by co-founder Zohaib Ali. Its one-stop application connects thousands of retailers with suppliers, giving businesses real-time visibility on pricing and financing rates. Platform partners have included Coca-Cola, Nestle and Reckitt. In June 2022 the company closed a $15 million Series A to support growth. The new capital will fund expansion into 15 additional Pakistani cities beyond its existing network in Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot and Gujranwala. Dastgyr will remain an independent entity following the investment, with VEON Ventures taking a minority position. Dastgyr operates a mobile-first B2B marketplace that lets kiryana stores order inventory—over 2,000 SKUs currently—from multiple suppliers with next-day delivery in Karachi and Lahore. Founded in 2020 by former Careem and Airlift employees, the startup has an asset-light model: it does not hold inventory, instead routing supplier shipments through its sorting centers for dispatch. Since its official launch in September 2020, Dastgyr says it has served 30,000 retailers. The company is experimenting with fintech products, including a BNPL pilot that has increased average basket sizes, and plans to offer microloans via third-party partners rather than funding loans on its own books. Dastgyr will use the new funding to enhance technology and scale operations while competing in a crowded Pakistani grocery-supply space.

• BASMA.com

  Participated · Series A · Jun 2021

  BASMA.com is a digital healthcare platform focused on orthodontics across the MENA region, headquartered in London. The company manufactures ISO- and CE-certified invisible teeth aligners that are 3D-printed in-house and supplied through a network of partner dental clinics. Its treatments target mild to moderate teeth crowding and spacing, with an average treatment duration of six months. BASMA.com was founded by Dr. Cherif Massoud and Hrag Hayrabedian. The company plans to use new funding to hire talent, expand geographically across the Middle East, and grow its partner clinic network across KSA, UAE and the broader GCC to reach more cities and countries. It recently completed a Series A round to support these expansion and operational objectives. Basma is a direct-to-consumer healthcare brand that enables customers to obtain a 3D scan at a Basma Booth or order an at-home impression kit. Customers who take impressions receive a prescribed series of clear aligners shipped to their homes, each aligner moving teeth a predetermined step toward the target position. The service is intended to reduce the need for monthly in-person orthodontist adjustments. Led by Founder and CEO Dr. Cherif Massoud, the company focuses on remote orthodontic treatment delivery using scans and impression kits. Basma intends to use the newly raised capital to accelerate expansion across the MENA region. The company announced a seed financing of US $1.2M.

No current team members are available.