Zest Equity Secures US$4.3 Million Pre-Series A Round

Zest Equity, a UAE-based digital infrastructure solutions platform for private market transactions, has secured US$4.3 million in a pre-Series A funding round.

The investment round was led by the Amsterdam-based venture investing arm Prosus Ventures, with additional participation from Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures (MSISV), the New York-headquartered Morgan Stanley’s investment division that focuses on inclusive growth and sustainability. 

Founded by Rawan Baddour and Zuhair Shamma in the UAE in 2021, Zest Equity addresses key inefficiencies in private market transactions. The platform aims to simplify and digitize the execution of private market deals, which traditionally rely on slow, manual processes that make smaller transactions (particularly those under $100 million) difficult to execute efficiently. 

“When we looked at private market transactions, we found that traditional processes mainly cater to large-scale transactions (hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars in size) - and not for the smaller deals,” Shamma, co-founder and CEO, Zest Equity, explained, in an interview with Inc. Arabia. “The existing processes are full of friction, manual admin, and slow execution, making it hard and very expensive to close smaller (sub-$100 million) transactions efficiently. We saw a clear opportunity to build digital-first infrastructure that delivers speed, compliance, trust, and simplicity without sacrificing rigor.” 

Similarly, Baddour highlighted the critical elements missing in smaller deals, while also pointing out how Zest Equity is addressing those gaps. “We also realized the importance of governance, know your customer (KYC), transparency, and communication in supporting the growth of a sustainable private investment ecosystem," she said. "These elements were often missing in smaller private market transactions, with asymmetry in information and multiple touchpoints required to gather what you need throughout the process. By building the 'rails'—the  digital infrastructure and governance layer—we’re empowering these transactions to happen in a best-practice manner, and unlocking a growth story for markets that have historically been left behind by traditional service providers.” 

The Zest Equity team. Image courtesy Zest Equity.

To date, Zest Equity has facilitated over $155 million in transactions across more than 115 pre-agreed deals. With the rise of technology and artificial intelligence (AI), the opportunity to streamline private market execution is growing. “It’s not just about speed or front-end automation,” added Baddour. “The missed potential we’re unlocking is the ability for smaller deals to be executed with the same level of trust, transparency, and efficiency as large institutional transactions. This not only supports the growth of companies and investors in emerging markets but also enables the ecosystem to mature and scale more sustainably.” 

The funding round is set to support Zest’s expansion in the KSA and the UAE, as well as the development of new products and technology infrastructure. The company had previously raised funding, including a $3.8 million seed round in October 2023 led by the UAE-based venture capital (VC) firm Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) with support from the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), a government-backed initiative designed to support and invest in innovative startups and projects within Dubai’s Future District, and Dubai-based VC DASH Ventures. “We are at a point where we have identified a growing market gap, a proven ability to execute, and a clear path to scaling,” said Shamma. “We aren’t just talking about digitizing private markets—we are already doing it, growing momentum.” 

Looking ahead, Zest’s founders see digital platforms becoming increasingly important in the private market space. “Stakeholders are starting to expect the same level of transparency, efficiency, and accessibility that they get in public markets—and traditional private market infrastructure simply can’t keep up," Shamma told us. "Over the next few years, we expect to see greater demand for trusted digital platforms that can simplify execution without sacrificing compliance. Platforms like Zest will be critical in enabling faster deal cycles, broader investor participation, and more standardized processes across regions. The winners will be those who can combine regulatory rigor with seamless user experience—and that’s the future we’re building toward.” 

Baddour echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the trend toward digitization and customization. “We see a strong trend towards digitization and customization," she said. "As more investors and deal leads look for efficient, transparent, and error-free execution, platforms like Zest Equity will become the infrastructure layer that powers these transactions. The ability to customize transaction flows and ensure data integrity will be key trends shaping the future of both capital formation and secondary transactions.” 

For founders navigating private market transactions today, Rawan advised them to prioritize clear communication and to invest in understanding transaction documents. “Overcommunicate, be clear about the good and the bad, and understand your documents very well," Baddour said. "Know your rights, the rights you’re providing to your shareholders, and the mechanics you are putting in place. And where you can, leverage technology to help you in building robust, transparent, and well-governed processes. Transparent communication and making sure you understand your transaction documents are extremely important and will shape the relationship you have with your stakeholders and investors, as well as your ability to provide liquidity and secondary opportunities as you grow."

Pictured in the lead image are Zest Equity co-founders Zuhair Shamma and Rawan Baddour. Image courtesy Zest Equity.