Dubai

Seed

Series A

Series B

Series C

Uncover Michael Lahyani's funding activity and portfolio companies. Find tailored investor profiles on Lucidity Insights.

Michael Lahyani

Michael Lahyani is the Founder and CEO of Property Finder, the leading real estate platform in the Middle East. He identified a gap in Dubai’s property advertising market in 2005 and launched Property Finder in 2007, growing it into a regional powerhouse operating in six countries.
Michael has been angel investing since 2019, with a focus on high-growth startups, and where he can add strategic value - like proptech, adtech, and B2B/B2C marketplaces.

Post-IPO Debt

Swvl

Internet

Information Technology

Technology

Swvl is a tech-enabled mobility platform that provides safe, reliable, and convenient mass transit solutions in 115 cities worldwide, including Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

London

Debt Financing

Fresha

Beauty

Health Care

Marketplace

SaaS

Wellness

Fresha is the leading marketplace platform for beauty & wellness trusted by millions of consumers and businesses worldwide. Fresha allows consumers to discover, book and pay for beauty and wellness appointments with local businesses via its marketplace, while beauty and wellness businesses and professionals use an all-in-one platform to managetheir entire operations with its intuitive free business software and financial technology solutions.

Bouskoura

Chari

E-Commerce

Fintech

Retail Technology

Retail

A one stop shop for traditional proximity stores allowing them to order any consumer goods they sell and get delivered for free while benefiting from financial services

Aptuno

Proptech

Property Management

Real Estate

Aptuno's all-in-one platform enables searching, listing, signing, and management of properties.

Cairo-based transportation startup Swvl has raised $42 million in a Series B-2 funding round, marking the largest-ever funding round for an Egyptian startup. The round was co-led by Swedish VC Vostok Ventures and Dubai-based BECO Capital, with participation from investors including China’s MSA, US-based Endeavor Catalyst, and others. Swvl plans to expand to two to three more African cities by the end of the year.

Cairo-based Swvl raises $42 million in the largest-ever funding round for an Egyptian startup

Swvl, an Egyptian app for booking buses, has raised $42 million in a Series B funding round to expand into other parts of Africa, including Nigeria. The funding was secured from venture-capital firms such as Sweden’s Vostok, Dubai-based BECO Capital, China’s MSA, and Endeavor Catalyst from New York. The company plans to enter at least two or three more African cities by the end of the year, with Lagos, Nigeria, being a likely next market.

Swvl raises $42 million to expand to Africa

Swvl, a Cairo-based transportation startup, raised $42 million in a Series B funding round at a valuation of $156.86 million. Investors include BECO Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, MSA, Vostok New Ventures, Autotech, Arzan VC, Blustone, OTF Jasoor Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani, and Sawari Ventures. The startup plans to expand to two or three more African cities by the end of the year, with Lagos as a likely next market.

Egypt’s Swvl raises $42-million on a reported $156m valuation [Updated]

Cairo-based ride-hailing company SWVL raised $42 million in a Series B funding round, co-led by Vostock New Ventures and BECO Capital, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst. This marks the largest-ever funding round for an Egyptian company. The funds will be used to expand SWVL's operations to two to three more cities, including Lagos, and to enhance their technology and customer service. The company also pledged EGP 1 million for the education of their top drivers' children.

SWVL Raises $42 Million in Largest Ever Funding Round for an Egyptian Company, with Participation from Endeavor Catalyst

Swvl, an Egyptian mass transit startup, raised $42 million in a Series B funding round from investors including Vostok, BECO Capital, MSA, and Endeavor Catalyst. The funds will be used to expand into Lagos, Nigeria, with plans to begin by mid-July. Swvl aims to enter at least two or three more African cities by the end of the year.

Egypt's Swvl Does It Again, Raises $42 Million To Expand To Nigeria

Beauty and wellness businesses have come roaring back to life with the decline of COVID-19 restrictions, and a startup that’s built a platform that caters to the many needs of small enterprises in the industry today is announcing a big round of funding to grow with them.

Fresha — a multipurpose commerce tool for independent wellness and beauty businesses such as hair, nail and skin salons, yoga instructors and more, based first and foremost around a completely free subscription platform for those businesses to schedule bookings from customers — has picked up $100 million.

Fresha plans to use the funds to expand the list of countries where it operates, to grow the categories of companies that use its services (mental health practitioners is one example; fitness is another) and to build more services complementing what it already provides, helping customers do their work by providing them with more insights and data about what they do already. It will also be making acquisitions to expand its customer base.

General Atlantic is leading this Series C, with Huda Kattan, Michael Zeisser of FMZ Ventures and Jonathan Green of Lugard Road Capital also participating, along with past investors Partech, Target Global and FJ Labs.

Fresha has raised $132 million to date, and it’s not disclosing its valuation. But as a point of reference, when it closed its Series B (as Shedul; the company rebranded in February 2020), it was valued at $105 million.

Chances are that figure is significantly higher now.

Michael Lahyani

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Michael Lahyani

Funding Deals, by Region

Current stage of startup invested in

No. of Startup Invested In

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Portfolio Companies
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