Saudi Technology Ventures (STV) will approximately double the money on its October 2018 investment in Careem after Uber agreed to buy the Dubai ride-hailing company for $3.1 billion (Dh11.38bn) last week.
Chief executive Abdulrahman Tarabzouni said the one year-old venture capital fund plans to replicate its early success by “doubling down” on hyper-local start-ups in future investments.
“Our thesis that empowering local champions to think big will yield dividends” was proven right with Careem, said Mr Tarabzouni, who is also managing director of STV, a Riyadh venture capital firm anchored by Saudi Telecom Company (STC).
“The window of opportunity for creating large tech companies in the Middle East is there," he added. "We want to see moon shots.”
STV is one of the biggest and most active venture capital funds in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), investing close to $100 million of its $500m fund in 2018 in six separate ventures. And Mr Abdulrahman, from the helm of STV and before that, as an investment committee member at Saudi Telecom Company Ventures, has been a long-standing champion of Careem.
He led the campaign for STC to invest $100m in Careem in 2016 – pushing the then three-year-old start-up past the $1bn valuation mark. Two years later, after STC’s independent venture capital fund STV was set up, he co-led a further investment into Careem’s $200m seventh round of fundraising.
“Careem realised ride-hailing is a hyper-local game. You need to invest locally, you need to be very well tuned to local needs, and you need to build features that are customised to how people behave,” he said.
While Mena “punches above its weight” in terms of the number of mobile phone users, the share of dollars spent on digital services and internet users, the region is not being served by “high-quality local companies that meet that demand” across a wide variety of industries, according to STV’s research.
Entrepreneurs that want to build a “hyper-local” business to meet that pent-up demand could find Careem-level success, Mr Tarabzouni said.
Global giants such as Facebook, Spotify and Netflix have the technical know-how and resources to build universal products and invest quickly in new geographies to capture large market share, but there are numerous sectors where unique hurdles make it challenging for global companies to come into Mena and find quick success.
“You don’t want to invest where barriers to entry are so low that global players can come in and crush local competition,” he said.
Now Mr Tarabzouni is looking to other sectors in Mena that are ready to "grow in orders of magnitude" as Careem did for ride-hailing, and Souq did for e-commerce when it was bought by Amazon for $580m in 2017.
For another Middle East company to create a realised value of $3.1bn again, STV is “bullish” on business models for original Arabic content creators, e-commerce affiliated ventures in logistics and payment processing, and cloud-based communications.
Mr Tarabzouni also foresees a "virtuous cycle" occurring in the coming years as Careem alumnae and those inspired by Careem co-founders Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, who left jobs at McKinsey to pursue their start-up, decide to take the leap.
"The best thing that can happen out of Careem is another Careem," Mr Tarabzouni said. "Not in four years but in two."
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Quick%20facts
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Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
Teams: UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar
Friday fixtures: 9.30am (UAE time) - Kuwait v Maldives, Qatar v UAE; 3pm - Saudi Arabia v Bahrain
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
