Zest Equity, UAE’s digital infrastructure solutions platform for private market transactions, has secured $4.3 million to simplify and digitise private market transaction processes by providing essential infrastructure to streamline execution.
The pre-series A funding was led by Prosus Ventures with participation from Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures (MSISV)and will be deployed to grow its presence in the KSA and UAE, acquire specialised talent, develop new products, and scale technology infrastructure to support growing volumes and types of transactions.
According to Zuhair Shamma, Co-founder and CEO of Zest Equity, “This funding milestone allows us to continue in our mission to remove friction from private market transaction processes.”
Founded in 2021, Zest Equity aims to remove friction from private market transactions via its go-to trusted platform where clients can step into Zest’s ecosystem to design and select the tools they need to execute their transactions with ease, no matter how complex. Agnostic in their approach, Zest Equity offers solutions for various asset classes and transaction types.
In October 2023, Zest raised $3.8 million Seed funding, led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) with participation from the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) and DASH Venture to provide execution solutions for private market transactions under the $100 million threshold, often overlooked by major investment banks.
To date, the company has digitised the execution of more than $155 million in transaction value across more than 115 pre-agreed deals.
Strategic Deployment of Funds
“Prosus Ventures’ deep understanding of emerging markets makes them the ideal partner to accelerate our expansion, while MSISV’s expertise will be key to scaling sustainably and compliantly,” added Rawan Baddour, co-founder of Zest Equity.
“Zest Equity is building the fabric that brings together private markets in emerging economies,” said Robin Voogd, Head of Middle East Investments at Prosus Ventures. “Their vision aligns perfectly with our focus on supporting innovative financial infrastructure in high-growth regions.”
