UAE’s Alaan, Saudi firm Aqarito get initial funding; Mindshift backs Rebel Girls
Alaan, a UAE-based fintech startup, has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by 468 Capital, Global Founders Capital and Presight Capital.
Several angel investors, including the founders of Scalable Capital and Hedosophia, also pitched in.
Alaan was founded in 2021 by Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien, former McKinsey executives of Indian-origin. The startup provides a multi-currency spend management platform for employees to make corporate transactions using e-cards and automatically reconciles spending in real time.
Alaan issues virtual cards in different currencies, including UAE dirhams, Saudi riyals and US dollars. The cards can be used in e-commerce transactions, SaaS subscriptions, vendor payments or in-store purchases. It also eliminates expense reports and automates bookkeeping tasks via integration with various accounting solution providers.
Aqarito
Saudi Arabia-based proptech Aqarito has raised $767,000 in a crowdfunding round, through the Scooper crowdfunding platform.
Founded in 2019 by Osama Alayach, Aqarito allows users to browse and preview available properties through virtual reality technologies based on their geographic location.
The startup said it will use the money to develop new technologies and expansion into the Egyptian market, after Oman and Jordan.
Mindshift Capital
Mindshift Capital, a gender lens-focused venture capital fund, has invested in Rebel Girls as part of the US-based company’s $13 million funding round.
Mindshift is investing alongside Silicon Valley VC firm Owl Ventures as well as Base10 Partners, and Emmeline Ventures.
The fresh capital will help Rebel Girls to expand its global multi-media platform for children that already includes app, books, audio stories, merchandise and events.
Mindshift Capital will also help Rebel Girls to expand the brand’s current reach of 49 languages and more than 100 countries. Focusing on the MENA region, this partnership will accelerate translation into Arabic, the VC firm said.
