• UAE-based fintech Zest Equity has raised $4.3 million in pre-Series A funding, led by Prosus Ventures with participation from Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures (MSISV).
• Founded in 2021 by Rawan Baddour and Zuhair Shamma, Zest Equity enables ecosystem players like founders and venture capitalists to sell their secondary shares online.
• The new funding will be deployed to grow Zest's presence in the KSA and UAE, acquire specialised talent, develop new products, and scale the technology infrastructure to support growing volumes and types of transactions.
• In October 2023, Zest closed a $3.8 million Seed funding, led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) with participation from the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) and DASH Ventures. 

Press release:

Zest Equity, the leading digital infrastructure solutions platform for private market transactions, today announced it has secured $4.3 million in pre-series A funding from strategic investors, led by Prosus Ventures with participation from Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures (MSISV).

This investment reinforces Zest Equity’s mission to simplify and digitise private market transaction processes by providing essential infrastructure to streamline execution.

Mission and Traction

Founded in 2021, Zest Equity is on a mission to remove friction from private market transactions. Their vision is to build the 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. 

Zest Equity is addressing a crucial gap in the market by initially providing execution solutions for private market transactions, currently focused on those under the $100 million threshold, deals 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

"This funding milestone allows us to continue in our mission to remove friction from private market transaction processes," said Zuhair Shamma, Co-founder and CEO of Zest Equity.

“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.

The new funding will be strategically 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.

"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."