Author: Dalia Khirfan

UAE-based financial literacy platform Verity has secured $800,000 in pre-seed round. Gearing for the launch of its family banking and financial literacy app in the Middle East.

VentureSouq, Wamda, and Beyond Capital led the round. In addition to contributions from prominent angel investors.

The Verity app is expected to be launched in the UAE before the end of the 2021. It enables kids and teens to learn how to earn, save, give, and spend money properly in a safe and secure environment.

The platform combines a reward system which is a personalized prepaid debit card, with a familial connectivity; in order to make learning about personal finance both fun and experiential.

Through subscription-based family plans, parents can create sub-accounts for their children, which they can monitor and control as primary account holders.

Omar Al Sharif, Co-Founder of Verity commented: “When Dina, Kamal and I came together to form Verity, our mission was very clear from day one – to make the next generation more financially conscious and financially independent. Verity is built in the region and for the region, so it was important for us to create an app that encompassed our Middle Eastern culture and values, in addition to global citizenship.”

The Egyptian E-grocery platform Rabbit has successfully secured $11M in its Pre-Seed round. The deal was led by Global Founders Capital, Foundation Ventures, Raed Ventures, MSA Capital, and Goodwater Capital.

Rabbit is an on-demand quick commerce company delivering groceries, cosmetics, electronics, and more under 20 minutes. It was launched in October 2021 by Ahmed Yousry, Walid Shabana, Ismail Hafezz, and Tarek El Geresy.

The six-month-old startup is currently running four locations in central Cairo: Mohandeseen, Zamalek, Maadi, and Nasr City. It plans to expand it’s coverage into several major cities in the next 12 months and expects to be processing hundreds of thousands of orders per month.

In addition, it plans to add a new fulfillment center every other week till the end of the year to cover a lot of major cities in the next 12 months.

Rabbit has developed a huge geographical coverage by adopting hybrid delivery models built around hyper- localized fulfillment centers and a growing third-party supplier network.

Rabbit’s short-time delivery (20 minutes) allowed the Cairo-based startup to develop a customer-driven approach in their product offering as Co-founder Ahmad Yousry elaborated  “Whatever the consumer wants under 20 minutes, we’re going to let the market dictate what we sell. We’re not limiting ourselves as a grocery player.”

Rabbit has developed its operations to operate the entire end-to-end experience on its platform. With a live inventory tracking system in its warehouses, the Cairo-based startup creates swift and self-sufficient delivery processes equipping riders — some employed, some self-employed — with the necessary protective gear and technology to make timely deliveries.

The Co-founder Ahmad Yousry highlighted “Consumer expectations have evolved significantly over the past two decades. On-demand has taken over the music, media, and transportation industries and we believe that on-demand retail is next. We are building a business with speed as a core part of the DNA, which is evident in how we operate and work. We measure things by seconds because ultimately, we are not in the business of retail or convenience, we are in the business of time.”

Talal Alasmari, founding partner of Raed Ventures concluded “At Raed, we always look for world-class founders who have the capacity to be leaders in their industry. We believe that the founders of Rabbit, with their ambitious vision and extensive experience, possess the ability to lead in the Ultra-fast delivery domain, not only in Egypt but in the region as a whole.”

South Africa’s Vodacom Group Limited has agreed to buy 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt. The deal captures growth in a fast-growing information communications and technology market.

Vodacom operates in 7 countries including South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC), Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya. With a mobile population of over 295.8 million people.

Deal details

The transaction values Vodafone’s 55% shareholding in Vodafone Egypt at €2,722 million on a debt free, cash free basis, implying a multiple for the last twelve month period ended 30 September 2021 of 7.3x Adjusted EBITDAaL and 12.2x Adjusted OpFCF2.

Based on Vodafone’s 55% share of the net debt in Vodafone Egypt as at 30 September 2021 the total equity consideration is €2,365 million (the “Purchase Consideration”). Approximately 80% of the Purchase Consideration (€1,892 million) will be settled by the issue of 242 million new ordinary Vodacom shares to Vodafone at an issue price of ZAR 135.75 per share. As a result, Vodafone’s ownership in Vodacom will increase from 60.5% to 65.1%.

The remaining 20% of the Purchase Consideration (€473 million) will be settled in cash3.

Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement, the cash element of the Purchase Consideration will be adjusted for any movement in the net debt and agreed working capital of Vodafone Egypt between signing and closing. As such, Vodafone will be entitled to its 55% share of the cash generated by Vodafone Egypt between signing and closing.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) has taken note that Vodacom’s JSE defined free float will be below 20% as a result of Vodafone’s increased ownership. Given the scale of Vodacom’s current liquidity on the JSE, the JSE has not asked for any remedial steps to be taken. Vodafone confirms that is has no current intention to dispose of any of its shares in the market to increase Vodacom’s free float.

Bahrain-based CoinMENA has raised $9.5M in its first seed funding round led by BECO Capital, Kenetic, Arab Bank Switzerland, Bunat Ventures, Alameda Research, Rua Growth Fund, and Girnas Capital.

In addition to a number of select global angel investors participated in the round recorded.

CoinMENA was launched in early 2021 by Dina Saman, Talal Tabbaa, and Yazan Barghuthi. It was founded primarily to address a market gap that existed for easy and safe access to crypto investing.

Today, as a fully regulated, onshore crypto exchange licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, CoinMENA’s sign-up process takes less than a minute and can be performed on its simple, seamless, and highly intuitive mobile app, which is designed for both beginners and professional traders.

As recorded in our Q3 2021 EVM FinTech Venture Investment Report, a remarkable part in FinTech’s 100% YoY growth in funding across MENA was played by pioneers in Blockchain technology, Open Banking, Cryptocurrency, and international exchange platforms.

VCs seems interested in backing this FinTech exploration into the world of virtual currencies and decentralizing accessible investment opportunities, with major rounds closed by the likes of Fintech Galaxy, BitOasis, Tarabut Gateway, Sarwa, and Baraka in 2021 YTD.

CoinMENA hasn’t only successfully bridged the gap but has also become the go-to exchange, known for its prompt transactions, wide variety of assets, excellent customer service, and easy-to-use mobile app. Most recently, CoinMENA entered into an agreement with the Dubai World Trade Centre to build the next blockchain and crypto hub in the UAE.

Commenting on the investment, CoinMENA’s co-founders stated “With growing awareness about crypto-assets and their transformative potential, appetite from both retail and institutional investors in the MENA region is growing at a rapid pace. Our strategic capital partnerships provide support for our vision to increase the adoption of crypto assets in the region in a regulated and seamless manner. We believe that this is a positive outlook for the crypto assets sector over the coming years both locally and globally.”

CoinMENA markets

CoinMENA exchange services are currently available to residents of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman, with a view to expanding to other countries in the MENA region.

Jehan Chu, Founder of Kenetic highlighted the formidable potential for the Bahrain-based blockchain pioneer “CoinMENA is positioned for explosive growth, and Kenetic is excited to lend our extensive experience and deep network to support them as they provide superior crypto liquidity and user experience in a new era of digital finance throughout the MENA region.”

CoinMENA’s investor BECO Capital, the technology-focused venture capital, has been keen on spotting major innovations with a track record of backing MENA’s 3 Unicorns Swvl, Kitopi, and Careem. With this investment and the insurmountable experience onboarded by the network of partners and stakeholders, CoinMENA will be able to expand its market presence across the MENA region.

Dany Farha, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of BECO Capital concluded “We had been searching for a while for the combination of the strength of the team and depth of vision that the team at CoinMENA set out to build. We are very excited to partner with this stellar team in delivering financial inclusion, investing, and saving in a crypto native manner, in a hyper-local manner, all whilst being regulated and adhering to the highest levels of governance and compliance for all stakeholders.”

Shakira Rihanna’s duet “Cannot Remember to Forget You” video clip has made its way online by causing a wave of criticism on social media in Colombia, labeling it as immoral and vulgar content.

Can’t Remember to Forget You

The video premiered on 30 January 2014 on Shakira’s Vevo profile on YouTube. It received more than 17.1 million views in the first 24 hours.

On 9 February 2014, the video reached 100 million views on Shakira’s Youtube channel, becoming Shakira’s eighth Vevo Certified music video.

As of November 2019, it has received over 1 billion views.

How people reacted to Shakira’s Video Clip with Rihanna?

Many channels and critics praised the song, such as MTV, the Guardian, Vibe, etc. However, some people in Colombia wanted to ban it from Columbians media channels for “immoral and vulgar” content.

How Columbians reacted?

Shakira is not only a regular singer for Columbians but also an influential advocate and philanthropist who has a foundation to help impoverished children in Colombia and has been a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

Therefore, Bogota Councilman Marco Fidel Ramirez mentioned that she has a social responsibility not to repeat stereotypes of women in music. He argues that she doesn’t need sex to sell her albums precisely because of her talent and fame.

Other artists usually depict sex, smoking, or drinking in their music or videos; Ramirez said Shakira’s case is different because so many children look up to her.

In the offending video, Shakira does her trademark hip-shaking and gyrating but shares scenes in bed with Rihanna and smoking cigars.

Ramirez said the video should be banned from Colombian airwaves because the smoking and the touching in bed violate a law that prohibits broadcast material that damages the “moral integrity” of children.

“I found a video that contains images that, in my opinion, are not useful for the emotional growth and development of youths,” Ramirez told CNN en Español.

The councilman wrote a letter to Shakira, appealing to her role as a mother and asking her to remove the video from the Internet and to consider retracting the song altogether.

“I feel it promotes immorality,” he told CNN en Español.

Ramirez’s social media campaign against Shakira’s video clip

Ramirez took his campaign to social media, distributing a flier on Facebook and Twitter that warned that the video promotes smoking and lesbianism. (In his letter to the singer, Ramirez explains that he believes that a “normal” family comprises a man and a woman, and children).

How people reacted to Ramirez’s social media campaign against Shakira?

His comments were met with critics who accused him of censorship, but others supported his stance, saying the video goes too far.

“I think the message that Shakira is sending to the youth and children around the world is a message that sells a lifestyle and promotes a particular orientation that, in my opinion, does not reflect the views of most Colombians,” Ramirez said.

How did Shakira react?

However, Shakira has not responded to CNN’s requests for a response to the politician’s claims.

Is that an excuse for Shakira?

Shakira has confirmed she will no longer make music videos with men because her boyfriend Gerard Pique doesn’t “let” her.

In her Billboard cover story, Shakira said her soccer pro boyfriend—and father of her baby boy—is too “territorial” to let her do music videos with other men.

Is that an excuse for Shakira that explains the hypersexual “Can’t Remember To Forget You” video featuring Shakira and Rihanna grinding up on each other?