Zest Equity raises $3.8m to expand into North Africa, others
Zest Equity, a UAE-based startup, has successfully raised $3.8 million in seed funding with the aim of further developing tools that facilitate transparent and rapid transactions in the private market ecosystem.
The funding round was led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and saw participation from the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) and DASH Ventures. With this round, Zest Equity has now secured a total of $5.7 million in funding.
The startup has expansion plans targeting other emerging markets such as North Africa, South Asia, and Turkey, all of which share similar gaps and challenges in their private market ecosystems.
Key Takeaways
Initially launched in 2021 as a secondary trading marketplace, Zest Equity quickly evolved into a platform designed to streamline online transactions for ecosystem players, including founders and venture capitalists. Historically, these transactions occurred offline and were often cumbersome, opaque, and costly. Zest Equity is also actively developing tools that will enable startups to establish standardized processes for secondary share trading. These tools will allow startups to specify when a liquidity window opens, manage liquidation processes, and control the sharing of information necessary for secondary transactions. By introducing transparency and expediting approval processes, Zest Equity aims to simplify investor access to liquidity.
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