In a pre-series ‘A funding’ round, Dubai-based start-up Stake has successfully raised $8mn. This is said to be the largest capital raised by a real estate investment platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The latest funding is backed by venture capital firms MEVP and By Ventures, as well as returning investors Vivium Holding and Combined Growth Real Estate. It follows a $4mn seed round that the company closed in June 2021, bringing the business’ total raised funds to more than $12mn – all achieved in little more than 14 months.
The company operates a digital platform that allows investors to invest sums as low as $136.13 to own shares of income-generating properties in Dubai. This means that ownership benefits can be achieved without having to buy an entire apartment or villa, thereby avoiding the need to raise large amounts of capital up-front.
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Stake has said that it will use the new capital to advance both its product offer and technology, up-scaling its brand and expanding operations in the region.
The real estate fintech platform has around 42,000 users from more than 80 countries and 150 nationalities. It has posted an average 17% monthly growth rate in assets under management (AUM) and 500% overall growth in AUMs in the past 12 months.
One of the core advantages of the Stake offer is that by offering the opportunity to buy partial shares in properties, investors are protected to a certain extent from significant market fluctuations and can use further sums to acquire a portfolio ‘spread’, which might include existing ‘gilt-edged’ opportunities as well as more speculative opportunities, the firm concluded.
In early August, Emaar bought out Dubai Holding’s stake in Dubai Creek Harbour for $2.04bn and, later in the month, CBRE said that Bahrain’s real estate transaction volumes were on a positive trajectory.