UAE-based fintech Baraka gets $20M from Valar Ventures to reach more users

Baraka, a two-year-old stock trading app has announced the close of a $20 million Series A round led by Valar Ventures to expand across the Middle East and reach more users.

• Founded in 2020 by Feras Jalbout, Baraka started out as a content platform that used newsletters and podcasts to educate retail investors in the Middle East about stock investing and financial knowledge.
• Last year, it secured $4 million in a seed round led by Y Combinator and launched its stock investment app.
• This financing propelled Baraka to offer its “thousands” of investors access to more than 5,000 U.S. stocks and 1,000 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Investors can start investing with as little as $1 (~3.79 dirhams) on the platform.
• According to the founder, the platform has users in the “tens of thousands” who actively trade and consume in English and Arabic.
• Baraka says 56% of its users are younger than 30, a sign of the young regional population seeking digital investment solutions.
• With this new investment, the Robinhood-esque platform will double down on its presence across the GCC and Egypt, its new market (where it’ll face competition from Thndr), and drive customer acquisition.