InvestSky aims to make investing “inclusive, intuitive, and informed”. Following a successful pre-seed round, the UAE company is launching its platform.
InvestSky, a social investing platform for retail investors across the GCC, has raised USD 3.4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Emkan Capital, with investors including S3 Ventures, Al-Romaizan Family office and Mishal Al-Mishari, the Deputy CEO of Jahez.
InvestSky, making investing “inclusive, intuitive, and informed”
InvestSky’s platform allows for commission-free investing in a manner designed to appeal to a generation of investors within the GCC. According to the company, the aim is to make investing “inclusive, intuitive, and informed”. Users can buy fractional stocks starting from USD 1 (3.67 AED) and the platform provides a social community for users to collaborate. InvestSky will provide market intelligence data to help investors make informed decisions aligned with their principles whether they are shariah-compliant or focused on positive social and environmental impacts.
The startup was founded in 2021 by Nitish Mittal and Turki Alshaikh and has received a category 4 license with retail endorsement from Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the Independent regulator of financial services conducted in or from DIFC.
Retail investors “hugely influential”
Mittal, CEO of InvestSky, said, “We founded InvestSky on the recognition that retail investors are a hugely influential group across the middle east, yet the offering for them is clearly lagging behind. The region has not scratched the surface when it comes to the engagement and education of retail investors, especially considering the significant purchasing power, high GDP per capita and beneficial demographics. We intend to offer an empowering platform that helps educate our users to make sound investment decisions; powered by socially connected tools that will help build a collaborative community in the region.”
Turki Alshaikh, Co-founder of InvestSky, said, “The retail investor services market in the region is still highly untapped. The number of retail investors using fintech solutions grew by more than 180% over the past year, in Saudi alone, according to the CMA. Beyond this, we see a big gap in financial inclusion, with female retail investors making up less than 27% of investors. We believe that educating our users is key to building a sustainable market by improving both financial literacy and inclusion.”
Interested parties can join InvestSky’s early community by visiting their website.
December 2022 saw MENA region startups raising USD 125 million. While fintech normally accounts the majority of investment on a month-by-month basis, December saw agritech take the crown.