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Sakneen Raises $150,000 Pre-Seed Funding from Y-Combinator

Sakneen wants to bring transparency to the real estate search process to help home buyers.
Sakneen Raises $150,000 Pre-Seed Funding from Y-Combinator
Ramy Khorshed and Hussein El Kheshen founded Sakneen in 2019.

Egyptian homebuying platform Sakneen raised $150,000 in pre-seed funding from US accelerator Y-Combinator. The company is one of a few Egyptian startups to receive funding from the high-profile accelerator. Sakneen joined its Winter 2020 batch and received mentorship in California at the beginning of the year.

Ramy Khorshed and Hussein El Kheshen co-founded the startup in 2019. Khorshed tells WAYA the funding came at the perfect time. The funds are helping build Sakneen’s web-based platform, which will launch soon. Additionally, it allowed the team to hire a team to build the initial version of their product.

“The fact that we don’t have an easy way to search for homes or online and to actually see everything that’s available is what pushed us to decide that there’s an opportunity with Sakneen in the space that we are looking”.

Ramy Khorshed, Co-Founder & CEO, Sakneen

The company was self-funded until it raised this investment from Y-Combinator. The startup was attracted to the accelerator from the get-go. Ramy Khorshed, Co-Founder and CEO, tells WAYA “Another thing that Y-combinator really helped with outside of funding is their global perspective and the access to the quality of their network. They’re really able to guide us into the direction of building a global product and something that can be regionally significant, as opposed to getting really bogged down in local problems.”

The startup wants to help potential homeowners find a home without stress. They will do this by making it easier for developers to showcase their available properties. Khorshed explains “The fact that we don’t have an easy way to search for homes or online and to actually see everything that’s available is what pushed us to decide that there’s an opportunity with Sakneen in the space that we are looking”.

Khorshed told Enterprise that he is optimistic about securing more investments within the next year. “It will definitely be within the next year. Probably by the end of the calendar year, maybe even in the next two to three months,” he said.

Sakneen and the Post-Covid Economy

The co-founders believe that their product is perfect for the post-Covid economy. Real estate has traditionally been a physical industry. People go view homes in person. Khorshed says “you’re selling what’s likely to be the most expensive purchase anyone’s ever going to make in their lifetime”. Buyers want to ensure they are buying exactly what they want. As a result, diligent consumers do a lot of research before making a purchase. Sakneen claims to bring transparency to the search process by helping real estate developers and sellers connect directly with potential buyers.

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