Dubai real estate investment startup Stake reels in $8m in Pre-Series A funding

Dubai: Dubai-based real estate investment portal Stake brought in $8 million plus from an oversubscribed pre-Series A round, with investors including MEVP and BY Ventures. There were also contributions from Vivium Holding and Combined Growth Real Estate.

What Stake does is allow retail investors to pick up ownership stakes in local properties, from as low as investing Dh500. The company launched operations in 2020 at a time when Dubai and UAE property values were starting to recover. What the model does is use the combined power of a pool of investors. (In Dubai, developers have also been offering fractional ownership deeds, and that too has gained quite a bit of traction.)

Those buying into a property through Stake make their returns from the asset value appreciating by the time they exit. Until then, they could also realise steady returns through rental income. 

The portal had completed its seed round in June 2021, raising $4 million in the process. It now has a base of 42,000 users for its business model. “Investors in the region and beyond deserve a more transparent, digital-friendly means of investing in real estate,” said Rami Tabbara, one of the three co-founders. “This round is a testament to our mission at Stake to bring access and liquidity to the oldest, largest, and most sought-after asset class in the world.

“The proceeds will allow us to continue attracting the best talent to the team and cement Stake’s position as the category leader in the MENA region.”

Next up would be entries into Saudi Arabia and Egypt, both markets where housing demand will continue to grow as a new generation of buyers make an entry.

Quite a track record

MEVP has through the years cottoned onto investment trends, and has had a broad swathe of exposures in the region. "We believe that the future of property investment is digital, fractional, and hassle-free,” said Riyad Abou Jaoudeh, Partner at MEVP. “The team at Stake has enabled thousands to become real estate invetsors and we are excited to partner with them as they scale in MENA.”

MEVP stakes in the past include those in the Arabic music streaming portal Anghami and the e-retailer The Luxury Closet.

Double workforce

Currently with a 30 plus workforce, Stake is moving double the team size in its expansion markets. “The startup will provide investors with more liquidity and democratize the real estate asset class, as the region calls for a better real estate investment journey for its population of over 400 million, saving upwards of $500 billion a year,” the statement said.

"We’re proud of their early success in the UAE and excited about the potential in the wider MENA region," said Abdallah Yafi, founder and Managing partner at BY Ventures. "We strongly believe in the execution capabilities of the Stake team and their ability to build a dominant business while focusing on delivering profitable growth."