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Monday, 24 May 2021

UAE’s service marketplace Rizek wants to enter Egypt

UAE-based service marketplace Rizek is planning to expand into Egypt and Saudi Arabia “in the coming months'' after raising USD 10 mn in a series A funding round led by Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ and US-based financial investment company Peak Investments, according to The National. The investment, which “a number of [unnamed] family offices from the UAE and Saudi Arabia'' also helped raise, brings Rizek’s total VC financing secured to date to over USD 15 mn. The timeline for the expansion into the Egyptian market was not specified.

About Rizek: Established in February 2020, Rizek is deemed the UAE’s first local “super app” (think WeChat) for on-demand services, providing consumers with access to many third-party mobile apps that offer under one umbrella a raft of one-stop-shop home services, including home cleaning, covid-19 pcr swabs, maintenance, automotive, and other at-home services. In June 2020, the startup raised USD 3.5 mn in a seed funding round from Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), E-Tech Investments, Rozana Investments, and some other stakeholders — the largest seed round ever to be raised in the MENA region.

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  • Real estate firm Inertia Egypt has partnered with valU and PayTabs Egypt to allow clients to process payments online for home improvement financing, according to a press release (pdf). This includes property finishing, furnishing, maintenance, and unit reservation in an agreement that aims to utilize digital solutions for the real estate sector.

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