UAE - Mubasher: InvestSky, a Dubai-based social investing platform for a new generation of retail investors across the GCC, secured $3.40 million in a pre-seed funding round, according to a press release.
Emkan Capital led the funding round, with the participation of key investors, including S3 Ventures, Al Romaizan Family office, as well as Mishal Al Mishari, the Deputy CEO of Jahez, and other angel investors.
Founded in 2021, InvestSky enables users to purchase fractional stocks starting from $1 (AED 3.67), providing a social community for people to collaborate within the platform.
The startup will also offer market intelligence data, through which investors will manage to make more accurate decisions in accordance with their investment principles whether they are Sharia-compliant or focused on positive social and environmental impacts.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) granted InvestSky a category four licence with a retail endorsement.
It is worth noting that DFSA is the independent regulator of financial and market activities conducted in or from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Nitish Mittal, Co-Founder and CEO of InvestSky, commented: “We founded InvestSky on the recognition that retail investors are a hugely influential group across the Middle East, yet the offering for them is clearly lagging behind.”
“The region has not scratched the surface when it comes to the engagement and education of retail investors, especially considering the significant purchasing power, high [gross domestic product] GDP per capita, and beneficial demographics,” Mittal added.
Turki Alshaikh, Co-Founder of InvestSky, stated: “The retail investor services market in the region is still highly untapped. The number of retail investors using fintech solutions grew by more than 180% over the past year, in Saudi alone, according to the CMA.”
“Beyond this, we see a big gap in financial inclusion, with female retail investors making up less than 27% of investors. We believe that educating our users is key to building a sustainable market by improving both financial literacy and inclusion,” Alshaikh highlighted.
Ghassan Aloshban, General Partner at Emkan, noted: “This [funding round] coupled with an addressable market of roughly $1.20 trillion in retail investment flows in MENA and roughly 8 million retail investors in the GCC alone make for an incredibly exciting opportunity to capture market share with social trading.”
Meanwhile, Al Mishari indicated: “Undeniably, Saudi Vision 2030 has been a catalyst for the surge of investments in the fintech space.”
