Dubai-based real estate crowdfunding platform Stake raised $4 million in an initial funding round to expand its operations.
The company, which was launched in December 2020, will use the funds to scale and introduce new products and features, invest in sales and marketing and grow the current 15-member team, it said in a statement on Sunday.
A consortium of investors participated in the funding round, led by Combined Growth Real Estate, a company helmed by Amer Hammour, who is the founder and chairman of US-based real estate investment management company Madison Marquette.
Other investors include Vivium Capital, a Dubai-based private family office, Verve Ventures, Lama Holding from Riyadh and shareholders of the UK's Chalgrove Properties.
Based in DIFC’s Fintech Hive and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, Stake allows users to browse through pre-vetted selections of properties and invest from as little as Dh2,000 ($545).
This fundraise allows us to build the go-to digital real estate investment platform for Dubai property and eventually the region
“Our shareholders believe that in today’s world there is a much better way of investing in real estate. Through Stake, we will enable anyone to participate in this asset class in an easy, transparent and digital way,” Rami Tabbara, co-founder of Stake, said.
“This fundraise allows us to build the go-to digital real estate investment platform for Dubai property and eventually the region.”
Venture capital investments in early-stage start-ups that are using technology to solve major pain points in business are growing in the Middle East and North Africa.
Despite the pandemic-related challenges, Mena start-ups secured $1.03 billion in funding last year, up 13 per cent compared with 2019, according to data platform Magnitt.
However, the number of transactions was down by 13 per cent to 496. FinTech and e-commerce retained the top spots by number of funding agreements, together accounting for 24 per cent of the total.
Stake’s portfolio consists of ready units in Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina and will soon include properties in the DIFC and City Walk, the statement said. The company distributes profits generated from rental income to users every month.
“The Dubai residential property investment market offers very attractive opportunities to investors for growth in value and strong current income, as the current high supply gets absorbed by the very strong demand,” Mr Hammour said.
“Stake allows investors to participate directly in this market and make diversified bets on properties through partial ownership deals.”
Since its launch last year, the property crowd funding platform has attracted more than 4,000 registered users and achieved 30 per cent increase in sales every month, the company said.
“When we launched Stake, we made clear our goal to democratise real estate investment and [provide a] remedy to ills of Dubai’s property market, which prevented the young from participating and delivered unattractive returns for experienced investors,” Manar Mahmassani, co-founder of Stake, said.
“With this fund raise, we can accelerate our journey to radically improve the real estate investment market and bring this tangible asset into the new digital age.”
The company is also in discussions with partners and regulators in Saudi Arabia and intends to expand into the UK, too, the statement added.
Stake’s advisers include Daniel Miller, co-founder of Fundrise, the largest real estate crowd-investing platform in the US, as well as Gaurav Shivpuri and Fadi Moussali, senior executives at global real estate advisory JLL, the company said.
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
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Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Company%20Profile
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Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELong-range%20dual%20motor%20with%20400V%20battery%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E360kW%20%2F%20483bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E840Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20628km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.7sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210kph%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh360%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
General%20Classification
%3Cp%3E1.%20Elisa%20Longo%20Borghini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%3Cbr%3E2.%20Gaia%20Realini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%207%20secs%3Cbr%3E3.%20Silvia%20Persico%20(ITA)%20UAE%20Team%20ADQ%201%20min%2018%20secs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
