Seed

Pre-Seed

Others

Kuwait

Debt Financing

Musab Al Mutawa

Abdullah Al Mutawa

Aziz Albahar

Tiago Ferreira

If you're ready to take your business to the next level with The Taken Seat, we want to hear your pitch.

Investment in Startup

The Taken Seat: Explore portfolio, funding data, and industry contributions at Lucidity Insights' investor database.

The Taken Seat

Fintech

E-Commerce

Healthcare

The Taken Seat is a venture builder that conceives, launches, and scales the next generation of disruptive ventures in the Middle East.

Dubai

The List

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Fashion

Machine Learning

Mobile Apps

The List is a retail marketplace connecting the world of fashion through intelligent software.

Marketplace

Internet Marketplace Platforms

Fiz is a technology & logistics company that provides fast grocery delivery solutions to urban Kuwait.

Sihaty

IT & Communication

Healthtech

Hospitals and Health Care

Health Care

mHealth

Personal Health

Sihaty is an integrated virtual health system.

Sihaty is rethinking the way healthcare is done.

Sihaty brings together the best technology with the best human resources for health under its unique digital umbrella.

Sihaty's secure advanced telehealth platform connects you to an ecosystem of carefully selected, trusted, quality providers focused on your well-being.

Sihaty services include primary, urgent, and preventive care, chronic disease management, mental health, and women's and men's health.

Sihaty offers the following advantages to you and to your family:

1. Our on-demand service allows you to see a family physician immediately for most minor emergencies including:
            +	Cough and cold
            +	Fever
            +	Anxiety
            +	Skin problems
            +	Prescription renewals
            +	Lab test reviews

2. Our appointment-based service lets you schedule consultations with and receive evidence-based guidance from experts in medicine, surgery, mental health, nutrition, and rehabilitation.

3. Our convenient delivery service brings medications and laboratory tests to your home.

4. Our technology allows your medical records to remain safe and in your hands.

5. Our integrations allow for remote patient monitoring with the most innovative medical devices for better early detection and chronic disease management.

So why go through the hassle and risk of driving in traffic or waiting in busy waiting rooms when most health services can safely be managed through online consultations?

At Sihaty, we believe in a safe, convenient, and holistic approach to your health. So, come along and join our healthcare revolution.

Enabill

Finance

Financing Platform

Financial Services

Enabill is a fintech platform that facilitates the order and payment experience between restaurants and their guests rather than the traditional hassle both parties experience today. It is a single-tap device that allows guests to order and pay at their comfort while reducing operating costs, payment processing time, and delivering a unique customer experience.

Khibra

Recruiting

Rent Your Machine

Sihaty, a Kuwait-based digital healthcare system, has closed over $1.3 million in a pre-Series A round. The deal includes participation from Rasameel Investments, Doha Tech Angels, and several prominent regional angels, as well as follow-on participation from The Taken Seat Fund.

&nbsp;

Founded in 2019 by The Taken Seat, a regional venture builder, Sihaty launched its advanced telehealth platform in 2020 aiming to build a comprehensive virtual primary healthcare system allowing users to seamlessly connect to its network of select doctors, pharmacies, laboratories, and imaging centers. The startup currently serves Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and, in less than a year, has amassed over 200k app downloads. Sihaty has performed tens of thousands of teleconsultation minutes to date.

&nbsp;

Sihaty&rsquo;s unique vision goes beyond telehealth to target the gap in quality primary care services and care coordination critical to good health. &ldquo;For too long, our nations have focused on a sick care model. This is expensive, fragmented, low-yield, and it completely ignores the healthy majority. As a result, we have not paid enough attention to primary care and prevention, the priority interventions for health systems,&rdquo; says Dr. Nadeem Alduaij, co-founder and CEO of Sihaty. He adds, &ldquo;Despite our obsession with building bigger and better hospitals, our region holds the alarming record of having the fastest growing chronic disease mortality rate in the world. A paradigm shift is long overdue and we already know what the solutions are. Technology has the power to scale and enhance their impact.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Sihaty&rsquo;s technology platform meets the rigorous HIPAA data security standards and offers a unique virtual urgent care service that allows users to be seen by a board-certified family or emergency doctor within minutes. Moreover, the team is betting on its clinical workflow and end-to-end solution to maximize relevance and convenience. When prescribed, medications and laboratory tests are delivered to your doorstep. &ldquo;People need to be reassured. They need to know that they&rsquo;re entering a system of care that has their best interest in mind. We offer the top healthcare professionals who practice high quality, evidence-based, and ethical medicine,&rdquo; added Nadeem.

&nbsp;

Marwan Mahmoud, co-founder at DTA, said, &ldquo;Doha Tech Angels is excited to be part of Sihaty as an investor. We see great potential in Sihaty and in the vision of the founders. As an angel investment group from Qatar, we look for meaningful investment opportunities in health tech that address important regional challenges.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Sihaty will use the funding to roll-out its unique business strategy of assigning a family doctor to all incoming users and allowing this virtual-first health system to better manage chronic and stigmatized conditions. Going forward, Sihaty plans to focus on many of these disorders, especially mental health, that remain largely underestimated due to the associated stigma but have a major impact on our health, well-being, and productivity. From a geographic perspective, the team targets an expansion of its services across the entire Gulf region.

&nbsp;

Dakhil Al Dakhil, EVP for Alternative Investments at Rasameel Investments, said, &ldquo;Our focus at Rasameel is to identify promising opportunities in transformative sectors. The key depends first and foremost on the team and the market potential of the venture. The Taken Seat founders are making a reputation for themselves as serial entrepreneurs. They manage to leverage their expertise and put together a world-class team capable of exceeding expectations in their go-to-market strategy. And that is precisely what we are experiencing them doing with Sihaty.&rdquo;

Kuwait’s Sihaty raises $1.3M to grow its virtual-first health system

<ul>
	<li>Kuwait-based e-grocery delivery startup Fiz has raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round, led by the Taken Seat and Relish Venture Partners, with participation from Kuwait-based angel investors.</li>
	<li>Founded in 2021&nbsp;by&nbsp;Abdullah AlMutawa and&nbsp;Ahmad Salamah,&nbsp;Fiz offers over 1500 SKUs and promises deliveries in 10-15 minutes.</li>
	<li>The platform is set for launch early this year.</li>
</ul>

Press release

Co-founded by the team behind Bilbayt and Carriage, Fiz, the rapid grocery delivery startup has raised a $2.5M pre-seed round co-led by The Taken Seat and Relish Venture Partners, with participation from Kuwait based angel investors.

Founded in the summer of 2021, Fiz will soon be operational in multiple high-density neighbourhoods in Kuwait. The rapid grocery delivery startup is aiming to deliver approximately 1,500 SKUs in 10-15 minutes.

&ldquo;The model is simple, it always has been, it&#39;s all about convenience and the next frontier is the ability to deliver in no time&rdquo; says Ahmad Salamah, Co-founder and CEO. &ldquo;Global players, such as Getir and GoPuff, developed the blueprint and the pandemic made it easier for consumers to shop online in the Middle East. All we needed to do was to ensure we had the right locations for our dark stores and the right catalog for our consumers&rdquo;.

&ldquo;Partnering with Ahmad was a no brainer, his vision and determination to crack the quick-commerce game in the Middle East was on point&rdquo; said Abdullah AlMutawa, Co-founder. &ldquo;Given our background in food delivery and being the first in the region to launch 30-minute restaurant deliveries, we know what it takes to ensure positive unit economics (particularly in suburban settings) and how favourable the Kuwait market would be as a launching pad for quick-commerce in the region&rdquo;.&nbsp;

&ldquo;We understood the opportunity and had taken a close look at the regional landscape before making our decision - this was the team to back!&rdquo; says Waleed Al-Omar, co-founder of Relish Venture Partners. &ldquo;The team&rsquo;s strategy when it comes to their dark stores; location, size, accessibility was clear and diligent, especially given the changing regulations with regards to delivery bikes on Kuwait&rsquo;s highways&rdquo; added Waleed.

&ldquo;Kuwait is the best test kitchen to codify our business model before a very fast regional roll-out,&rdquo; says Musab AlMutawa, Co-founder. &ldquo;We are already laying the groundwork for additional markets in the region and will have boots on the ground in early 2022&rdquo;.

When asked about the launch date and the next funding round, Ahmad responded: &ldquo;Fiz will be coming to a neighbourhood near you very early in 2022, as long as you are in Kuwait. As for our next round, we are continuously speaking to investors, locally, regionally and internationally - I am a firm believer in the motto, if you build it, they will come!&rdquo;.

Q-commerce startup Fiz raises $2.5 million in pre-Seed

<ul>
	<li>Kuwait-based fintech Enabill, has raised $1.2 million in a Seed funding round with participation from The Taken Seat venture builder and Kuwait-based angel investors.</li>
	<li>Founded by brothers Faisal and Fawaz Almerri in late 2020, Enabill offers integrated payment solutions including split payments and tips that reduce the friction between restaurant staff and guests.</li>
	<li>The funding will enable Enabill to improve its tech capabilities, grow its team, and enhance its GCC expansion plans sometime this year.</li>
</ul>

Enabill, a Kuwait-based fintech startup, raised $1.2m in its most recent seed funding round. The round included the participation of The Taken Seat venture builder and Kuwait-based angel investors.

Enabill&rsquo;s single-tap devices allow restaurant guests to order and pay for their meals without the traditional compromises on their convenience.

Enabill was founded by brothers Faisal and Fawaz Almerri in late 2020 and offers integrated payment solutions including split payments and tips that reduce the friction between restaurant staff and guests to give a greater focus to hospitality and customer experience.

&ldquo;Enabill is currently focused on improving its tech capabilities and growing its team as it prepares for a full rollout. Additionally, Enabill is eyeing a GCC expansion sometime this year,&rdquo; Faisal Almerri, Co-founder and CEO, said.

Enabill is already operational with select partners in Kuwait. Enabil aims to offer faster table turnover, increase in average basket size, and reduced operational costs to its partners

&ldquo;We strongly believe in Faisal &amp; Fawaz&rsquo;s ability to execute on their vision and this investment is consistent with The Taken Seat&rsquo;s mission to both produce and back the best entrepreneurs in the region and further the regional ecosystem,&rdquo; Musab Almutawa, Co-Founder and CEO of The Taken Seat, said.

Kuwait’s Enabill raises $1.2 million Seed round

UAE-based E-commerce startup and luxury brand platform&nbsp;<a href="https://magnitt.com/startups/list-3602?utm_source=cta&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=Funding">The List</a>&nbsp;has successfully $3.5M in its latest funding round. The SEED round, announced after the launch of their new mobile app, was backed by a strategic group of investors including American Designer and Rachel Zoe, who is both an investor and advisor to the New York-based company.

Launched in 2016 with offices in Dubai and Lisbon, The List works with global retailers and resellers to provide a marketplace for luxury and hard-to-find items. After success in scaling their E-commerce platform, the list is delving into social commerce with a modern app that allows direct interaction between users and retailers as well as helps brands set up their online fronts seamlessly.&nbsp;

Following a 3-year consecutive growth in funding for E-commerce startups in MENA, 2021 marked the highest yearly record for VC investment in the digital sector, raising more than double the funds raised in 2019. The E-commerce industry across the region has made big strides over the years, developing into and digitizing almost every market category. Of the stellar E-commerce rounds raised this year crowned by Egypt-based MaxAB and Capiter, startups have been running successful ventures focusing on one category, like UAE-based Seez and MySyara focusing on the automotive market, JOI gifts and Floward focusing on gifts and special items, and The List, The Luxury Closet, and Nejree Close exploring Fashion and Luxury commerce as a go-to-market offering. Along with funding growth in supporting sectors of digitization like FinTech (180% YoY in 2021) and Transport &amp; Logistics (40% YoY in 2021), the E-commerce sector in MENA seems ready for next-generation integrations.

The List raises $3.5M in SEED funding

The Taken Seat Startup

The Taken Seat, one of the first digital venture builders in the MENA region, has taken a non-control stake in KHIBRA, the Middle East&rsquo;s first recruitment platform focusing on young talent.

The Taken Seat is a Kuwait-based venture builder that leverages an internal complementary ecosystem of talent, proprietary knowledge, infrastructure and other critical resources to build multiple new ventures across the MENA region. Founded by brothers Musab and Abdullah Almutawa, it seeks to ideate and identify new lucrative business opportunities in the GCC and wider MENA, to execute those ideas, to accelerate the growth of these ventures, to facilitate access to institutional funding, and ultimately to aid in achieving successful exits.

KHIBRA aims to be the leading young talent recruitment platform in the Middle East, a segment that is not currently addressed by mainstream recruitment efforts whether online or offline. The platform connects young talent and universities with multinational employers, bringing the companies operating in the region closer to future leaders and education hubs in more than seven countries. Built in the region for the region, KHIBRA has adapted its products and services to serve today&rsquo;s evolving operating environment. With KHIBRA, companies can directly and transparently access young talent and immediately participate in virtual and in-person career fairs. In its first month, KHIBRA has already facilitated over 1,500 job applications.

&ldquo;We were impressed with KHIBRA&rsquo;s focused approach catered to the region and with the traction it has already achieved with employers and universities,&rdquo; said The Taken Seat&rsquo;s COO Abdulaziz Albahar. &ldquo;We are thrilled to partner with the talented team at KHIBRA and will strive to help grow the business at an even faster rate.&rdquo;

Fahad Alsabah, Founder &amp; CEO of KHIBRA, noted that &ldquo;The Taken Seat brings to the table advanced tech capabilities, a strong regional network, and an unparalleled team that will help drive KHIBRA&rsquo;s future growth. We look forward to collaborating with them to create synergies and unlock tremendous value to employers, universities, and, most importantly, the region&rsquo;s youth.&rdquo;

The Taken Seat

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