Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company, recently invested in a $14 million Series A round for Dubai-based Stake, a fractional property investment platform founded by Manar Mahmassani, Rami Tabbara, and Ricardo Brizido in 2020 with plans to expand to Abu Dhabi next year. The Series A was led by Middle East Venture Partners, with participation from Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures and Republic.
The UAE’s real estate market is booming, with a surge in buyers. In 2024, Dubai rents have increased by 23% year-on-year, returning to pre-pandemic levels, and sales have risen by 18%, according to Deloitte. This upward trend is expected to continue for the coming years. Neighboring Abu Dhabi is also seeing a spillover in demand.
Stake will use the new funding to fuel its international expansion, targeting Saudi Arabia in the next few months and Abu Dhabi next year. The company will also offer more options in Dubai, such as commercial real estate investments. To date, Stake has raised a total of $26 million. By making real estate investment more accessible, Stake supports Abu Dhabi’s strategy to diversify its economy away from oil and gas.
Stake’s investment process is straightforward: investors can buy shares in properties managed by the company, earning rental income and a share of the profits if the property is sold. The platform also features a secondary market called Exit Windows, which allows investors to sell their shares every six months. Currently, Stake manages over 200 properties, with a customer base primarily from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, and about 12% from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
Initially planning to expand to Saudi Arabia and Egypt in 2022, Stake deferred due to economic volatility. This year, the company partnered with U.S.-based Republic to attract more overseas investors. In partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Stake offers a golden visa (a 10-year renewable residency visa) to investors who commit at least AED 2 million (~$545,000). This initiative has reportedly boosted foreign investment in the region.
Stake reports returns of approximately 4%-7% through rental income, having paid out $4.5 million to its customers so far. The average investment per property is $1,500, with customers typically investing a total of $5,600 through the platform. Stake aims to break even in Dubai by the end of this year and achieve profitability next year. The startup is also exploring partnerships to enable Middle Eastern investors to invest in U.S. properties.
In Saudi Arabia, where only nationals have traditionally had freehold property ownership, Stake plans to offer a similar investment product through special purpose vehicles, alongside existing companies like Awaed and Aseel. Co-CEO Mahmassani emphasized Stake’s commitment to leveraging its experience to offer a unified product for Saudi Arabian investments within the same app.
Philips Babatunde