Intrro, a Dubai-based digital employee referral platform, raised Dh2 million in a pre-seed funding round to expand into international markets, including the US, the company said.
The fundraising was led by 500 Startups, Spartech Ventures and strategic angel investors including Saif Kidwai, co-founder of technology recruitment consultancy Digital Gurus, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Recruiting the right people is a challenge for fast-growing companies,” said Nasser Oudjidane, chief executive of Intrro, which has been a member of Tecom Business Park's in5 incubator in Dubai since October last year.
“Intrro allows founders and hiring leaders to supercharge this process by using machine learning to match candidates from an employees’ network with open roles.”
Founded in May last year, the company also has offices in London and Tbilisi. It has created an employee referral platform using machine learning to automatically match candidates from employees’ networks to open vacancies.
Intrro’s successful pre-seed funding demonstrates strong investor confidence in local firms, said Ammar Al Malik, managing director of Dubai Internet City, one of the investment zones under the remit of Tecom.
“We are committed to helping in5 members attract investment so they can contribute to the ongoing success of our world-class ecosystem,” he added.
Thus far, in5 has helped technology, media and design entrepreneurs raise more than Dh400m in investor funding.
“We are proud to be on this journey … and look forward to seeing Intrro help fast-growing companies scale their biggest assets,” said Sharif El Badawi, managing partner at venture capital firm 500 Startups' Middle East and North Africa arm.
Start-ups in the Mena region secured Dh1 billion in funding during the first quarter of the year, up 2 per cent on the same period last year, according to data platform Magnitt.
The increase in funding in the quarter is “largely attributed to a strong start to 2020” before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Magnitt’s Q1 2020 Mena Venture Investment Report said.
While funding increased marginally, the number of deals in the first three months of this year fell 22 per cent to 108. Egypt accounted for 37 per cent of all deals in the Mena region while the UAE accounted for 25 per cent and Saudi Arabia 12 per cent.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
