• Cryptocurrency
  • Earnings
  • Enterprise
  • About TechBooky
  • Submit Article
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
TechBooky
  • African
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Gadgets
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • African
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Gadgets
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
TechBooky
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Online Brokerage Platform Baraka Secures $20 Million In A Round Led By Valar Ventures

Ibhadojemu Emmanuel by Ibhadojemu Emmanuel
November 16, 2022
in Uncategorised
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Baraka, a commission-free investment platform based in the Middle East, has secured $20 million in a Series A round led by Valar ventures with participation from Knollwood, a global investment firm. The new funding will be used to reach more users and expand across the region. 

Following the latest funding, the total amount of funding raised by Baraka stands at $25 million. The online brokerage firm which was founded two years ago counts investors such as Class 5 Global, Global Founders, and Venture Souq as backers. 

The company was founded by CEO Ferras Jalbout. He has experience working with Barclays, Standard Chartered, and a Dubai-based family office. He learned about investments such as stocks and government-assisted retirement funds while growing up in Canada, a country where investing was institutionalized. 

In the Middle East, investing is completely different. According to CEO Ferras Jalbout, people are used to investing through traditional savings options such as bank deposits and real estate, and that was why he knew Baraka would thrive in that environment. 

“When I moved to the region, it was surprising to see that people didn’t invest in digital assets much as there were little to no provisions for that. Many people in the region earn tax-free income and don’t invest. It’s a big part of why I launched baraka because very few fintechs offered investment options. I wanted to make an app I would’ve loved to use based on my experience as a professional investor,” he said.

Before it got its license to operate as an online broker, Baraka operated as a content platform. It used newsletters and a podcast to educate retail investors in the Middle East about stock investing and general financial knowledge. Its app was launched a year ago after it secured $4 million in seed funding. Armed with this funding, Baraka started offering its multitude of investors access to over 5,000 US stocks and 1,000 Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). On its platform, with as little as $1, people can start investing. 

According to Baraka’s CEO, the platform now has “tens of thousands” of active traders trading in English and Arabic. He added that 56 percent of its users are people younger than 30. This suggests that the young population is also interested in digital investment solutions like Baraka. Additionally, 50 percent of its user base are first-time investors; this goes to say that Baraka’s beginning as a content platform paid off and shows that there is a high interest in learning about equity markets. 

Baraka operates as a zero-commission platform, but how does it earn revenue? The platform generates revenue from its subscription service which costs $10 monthly. The platform is currently exploring other revenue streams. One of them includes launching commission or asset management-based products that will generate annuity over time.

“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 they enter this exciting new phase of growth across the region,” Andrew McCormack, general partner at Valar Ventures who emphasized that this was his firm’s first investment in the Middle East’s emerging fintech ecosystem, said.

Related Posts:

  • Maplerad, A Nigerian Banking-as-a-service Startup, Secures Seed Funding Of $6 Million In  A Round Led By Valar Ventures
    Maplerad, A Nigerian Banking-as-a-service Startup,…
  • African-Startups
    African Startups That Have Raised Money This Year
  • Untitled-design-16
    Payments Platform MFS Africa Raises Additional $100m…
  • Digital Payments Network MFS Africa Raises…
  • Sudan-based Fintech Bloom Secures $6.5 Million Seed Funding
    Sudan-based Fintech Bloom Secures $6.5 Million Seed Funding
  • Nigeria's Klasha Gets $2.1 Million In Additional Seed Funding To Scale Its Products For Cross-border Commerce In Africa
    Nigeria's Klasha Gets $2.1 Million In Additional…
  • 1688385382185
    39 US AI firms raised $100M+ in 2024: Full list
  • Edtech Giant Byju’s Raises New Funding Of $250 Million
    Edtech Giant Byju’s Raises New Funding Of $250 Million

Discover more from TechBooky

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Ibhadojemu Emmanuel

Ibhadojemu Emmanuel

Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

Select Category

    Receive top tech news directly in your inbox

    subscription from
    Loading

    Freshly Squeezed

    • Tech Hype vs. Reality – When Big Tech Missed the Mark Pt. 3 May 11, 2025
    • Google’s Antitrust Showdown, AI vs. Search, and other Headlines May 11, 2025
    • Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC May 10, 2025
    • Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology May 10, 2025
    • Threads Adds Dashboard for Post & Account Limits May 10, 2025
    • Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues May 10, 2025

    Browse Archives

    May 2025
    MTWTFSS
     1234
    567891011
    12131415161718
    19202122232425
    262728293031 
    « Apr    

    Popular Tags

    africa (135) AI (497) android (367) app (717) Apple (577) artificial intelligence (419) business (482) china (132) cryptocurrency (210) ecommerce (122) enterprise (287) facebook (507) fintech (244) funding (121) gadget (558) gaming (201) google (710) government (469) instagram (173) internet (467) ios (291) iphone (246) meta (116) microsoft (369) mobile (352) new feature (384) nigeria (440) privacy (158) research (140) samsung (185) security (421) smartphone (277) social media (836) software (509) startup (419) streaming (174) telecom (242) tips (372) twitter (289) united states (216) users (158) videos (127) website (173) whatsapp (201) youtube (138)

    Quick Links

    • About TechBooky
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact us
    • Submit Article
    • Privacy Policy

    About Us

    TechBooky

    TechBooky is a social Tech blog with a special focus on the budding African Technology sector. TechBooky is currently based in Abuja, Nigeria.

    Recent News

    Tech Hype vs. Reality – When Big Tech Missed the Mark Pt. 1

    Tech Hype vs. Reality – When Big Tech Missed the Mark Pt. 3

    May 11, 2025
    Google’s Antitrust Showdown, AI vs. Search, and other Headlines

    Google’s Antitrust Showdown, AI vs. Search, and other Headlines

    May 11, 2025
    Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC

    Huawei Officially Launches HarmonyOS for PC

    May 10, 2025
    Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology

    Canada Nears Launch of Instant Payment Technology

    May 10, 2025
    Advertisement Coming to Threads from Next Year

    Threads Adds Dashboard for Post & Account Limits

    May 10, 2025
    Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues

    Many X Users are Experiencing Timeline Update Issues

    May 10, 2025
    • Login

    © 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

    Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
    • African
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Gadgets
    • Metaverse
    • Tips
    • About TechBooky
    • Advertise Here
    • Submit Article
    • Contact us

    © 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

    Discover more from TechBooky

    Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

    Continue reading

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok