baraka raises $20M in Series A led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures

Middle East-based commission-free investing platform Baraka has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Valar Ventures. This is also Peter Thiel's Valar Venture's first investment in the Middle East. The funding round also saw participation from Knollwood.

According to a release share by the company, the startup aims to allocate majority of the funding for regional licensing and expansion. It will also be introducing new features that will give access to dividend reinvestment plans and extended hours trading, helping users to save, invest, and grow their money.

baraka is a Y Combinator backed company and is also part of Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, Hub 71. baraka’s investors include leading regional and global VCs such as Class 5 Global, Global Founders Capital, and Venture Souq. Valar ventures has previously backed global fintech unicorns Wise, N26 and BitPanda amongst others.

Feras Jalbout, Founder and CEO of baraka, said, “In just one year since our launch, tens of thousands of users have signed up to baraka. By empowering the next generation of investors in our region with low-cost and comprehensive investment choices, we remain committed to enabling financial inclusion for millions of investors across MENA. We are excited to have Valar Ventures and Knollwood join us in transforming how users here save, invest and grow their money for the future.”

baraka will continue to attract global fintech talent to the region while hiring locally for key positions across departments. With $25 million raised so far, the company will also explore new markets for expansion in MENA.

Andrew McCormack, General Partner at Valar Ventures, commented: “We’re proud to back the world-class team that’s shaping up at baraka, with our first investment into the Middle East. The region’s emerging fintech ecosystem has immense potential and we’re encouraged by the early signs of traction that baraka has been able to showcase. We’re really looking forward to working closely with the company as it enters this exciting new phase of growth across the region.”

As part of its growth plans, baraka intends to create further access to regional economies where it aims to secure licensing at some point in the future. The company has committed the majority of this fund raise to new markets and create more access to local stock exchanges for regional investors.

Launched in 2021, the startup is focused on empowering investors across the region with access to commission free investing and access to over 6,000 US stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The startup is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

Starting from $1, investors on baraka can build diversified portfolios and long-term wealth by benefiting from global equity markets to achieve financial independence.

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With its mobile-only experience, baraka app users are provided with daily financial news in English and Arabic, to help them make informed and independent investment decisions. baraka’s focus on driving financial inclusion is underpinned by a commitment to raise financial literacy standards across the region.

In a move to democratise access to burgeoning regional equity markets such as Tadawul, and attract global investors to the Middle East, baraka said it is working with local stock exchanges and regulators to enable access to local market trading on its app.

It is also planning to introduce its highly successful Arabic content to newly-licensed markets to drive financial inclusion in line with the ambitions of initiatives like KSA’s Vision 2030 for the financial sector.