Stake, a Dubai-based Fintech and Real Estate investment platform raised a $4 million Seed funding round. The round was led by Combined Growth Real Estate which is led by Amer Hammour, Founder and Chairman of Madison Marquette, a US-based real estate investment management company with $6 billion of assets under management and a member of the Capital Guidance group. Others in participation were Vivium Capital, Verve Ventures, Lama Holding, Mishaal Alireza (Saudi Arabian angel investor), and shareholders of UK’s Chalgrove Properties Limited.

Stake launched in December 2020 to disrupt the UAE’s real estate investment market. Based in DIFC’s Fintech Hive and regulated by the DFSA, Stake allows users to browse pre-vetted selections of properties and invest from as little as $545. The company is steadfast in its mission to create the go-to digital, borderless marketplace for discovering and investing in what the team refers to as “no-brainer” real estate assets due to Stake’s focus on prime locations where the rental demand is high and the long-term fundamentals will be a strong driver of capital appreciation.

Manar Mahmassani, co-founder of Stake, added “When we launched Stake, we made clear our goal to democratise real estate investment and remedy to ills of Dubai’s property market, which prevented the young from participating and delivered unattractive returns for experienced investors. Our shareholders believe in our vision for a world where real estate is a completely liquid and fully accessible investment asset class, available to everyone looking to preserve and grow their wealth. With this fund raise, we can accelerate our journey to radically improve the real estate investment market and bring this tangible asset into the new digital age.”

Amer Hammour Head of Combined Growth Real Estate and Founder/ Chairman of Madison Marquette commented: “The Dubai residential property investment market offers very attractive opportunities to investors for growth in value and strong current income, as the current high supply gets absorbed by the very strong demand. Stake allows investors to participate directly in this market and make diversified bets on properties through partial ownership deals. Mr. Tabbara and Mr. Mahmassani’s extensive and long background in Dubai property and financial investments, and the fantastic team they’ve put together, will ensure that investors will have access to the best underwritten and vetted opportunities, and the highest quality investment management of their assets. We believe that Stake will create the online engine that will allow investors access to different property types in Dubai, the UAE and beyond. It is poised to become the investment channel of the future. We are proud to participate in Stake’s development and to be a long-term strategic partner in the development of the company.”

Stake will use the funds to scale and enhance the platform by introducing exciting new products and features, invest in sales and marketing, and to grow the current team of 15 to execute on the firm’s ambitious goals in technology innovation, property sourcing, product development and operational excellence.