Investing platform Baraka has secured $20 million in a series A round headed by Valar Ventures, with participation from Knollwood. Baraka has already raised a total of $25 million in US dollars.
The Dubai-based firm, founded in 2021 by Feras Jalbout, enables investors in the Middle East to make commission-free investments in more than 6,000 US equities and exchange-traded funds with a minimum investment of US $1.
In an effort to improve financial literacy, Baraka also provides users with access to daily financial news in both English and Arabic.
The additional funding will be used to strengthen the company’s footprint in Egypt and the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, speed up client acquisition, and hire more personnel in strategic areas.
Over the next 12 months, Baraka also plans to expand the platform’s features, including access to dividend reinvestment plans and longer trading hours, among others.
The majority of the money will go toward developing new markets and facilitating greater access for regional investors to local stock exchanges like Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul.
Tadawul became the dominant exchange in the region in 2022 after raising $4.7 billion through 27 new listings.
The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) on Middle Eastern exchanges has increased by almost 300% this year, with retail investors driving a 16% rise in the region’s total assets under management to US $1.2 trillion.
