Most private markets under $100 million are ignored by large investment banks. For founders and investors looking to shut down these transactions, it often means dealing with messy spreadsheets, scattered emails, and slow moving legal documents. That’s where Zest Equity comes into play.
Zest Equity announced Monday it raised $4.3 million before the series. The round was led by Prosus Ventures and was attended by Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures (MSISV).
Founded in 2021 by Zuhair Shamma and Rawan Baddour, the UAE-based startup is building a digital infrastructure that is easy to manage, run faster and more transparent to private market transactions. The company allows clients to group stakeholders into a single legal vehicle (SPV), cut back on and off, and bring more structure to transactions that are usually buried in manual work.
The new funds will be used to increase their presence in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hire more specialized talent, launch new products, and strengthen the backend to support more transaction types and higher trading volumes.
Zuhair Shamma, co-founder and CEO of Zest Equity, said: “This funding milestone allows us to continue doing it on a large scale.”
So far, Zest Equity has helped digitalize transaction value of over $155 million across more than 115 transactions. The company is now zero in the middle class trading market. This is too small for a major bank, but complicated enough to require structured execution.
“Prosus Ventures” is an ideal partner to accelerate their expansion with a deeper understanding of emerging markets, but MSISV expertise is key to expanding sustainably and complexly,” said co-founder Rawan Baddour.
Robin Voogd, head of Middle East Investment at Prosus Ventures, called Zest Equity, “the fabric that connects the private markets of emerging economies,” says the company’s mission focuses on financial infrastructure in growing regions.
Prosus Ventures has invested more than $1.4 billion in over 40 companies in AI, Fintech, e-commerce and blockchain. Its portfolio spans more than 2 billion customers worldwide.
Zest Equity bets that there is an increasing demand for cleaner, faster ways to close trades, especially at the GCC, as more private capital flows through emerging markets.
From left to right, co-founders of Zuhair Shamma, Rawan Baddour and Zest Equity.
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