South Korea’s CLASSUM, which provides an interactive learning platform for universities and corporates, has bagged $11 million; while Abu Dhabi-based PE firm Gulf Capital has backed health tech firm Vezeeta, which caters to the Middle East and Africa markets.
S Korea’s CLASSUM raises $11m in pre-Series B funding
South Korea-based CLASSUM, which runs an interactive learning platform with social media-based communicating features, has bagged $11 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Dunamu & Partners, according to an announcement. Dunamu & Partners is the investment arm of Dunamu Inc, which mainly invests in blockchain & fintech, data & AI, and consumer services sectors.
The round was joined by Silicon Valley-based Storm Ventures and Big Basin Capital, besides South Korea-based VC firm Pearl Abyss Capital.
The company, which was founded in 2018, will use the fresh funding to expand its foothold in the enterprise learning market and scale its presence across key geographies it said. CLASSUM’s platform is used by corporates and universities. The company claims it is currently used by more than 6,000 organisations across 32 countries.
In 2021, CLASSUM had raised $6 million in a Series A round led by Pearl Abyss Capital, Storm Venture, Big Basin Capital and Smilegate Investment.
Gulf Capital leads funding in healthtech firm Vezeeta
Abu Dhabi-based PE firm Gulf Capital has led an investment in Vezeeta, a healthtech firm catering to the Middle East and Africs (MEA) markets. Sweden-based investor VNV Global also participated. The size of the deal was not disclosed.
Vezeeta provides services like doctor consultation bookings, online medicine ordering, diagnostics and lab sample collection to “10 million patients across 80 cities”.
Vezeeta also achieved profitability this year and is set to accelerate organic growth, fund acquisitions, and expansions across MEA, it said in a statement.
“Egypt remains a key market for us and we recently opened our regional office in Cairo to back successful growth stories similar to Vezeeta,” said Alvaro Abella, MD, Private Equity at Gulf Capital.
Gulf Capital is an alternative investment firm with over fifteen years of investment experience in growth markets across private equity, private debt, growth capital and real estate. In September, DealStreetAsia reported that the firm is on the lookout for Southeast Asian mid-market companies keen on heading West for growth.
In an interview with DealStreetAsia, the firm’s co-founder and CEO Karim El Solh pointed to the Gulf as a prime location for expansion given that it is one of the fastest-growing economic regions. At the same time, the dynamics in the Gulf economies are compatible with Southeast Asian businesses.
Gulf Capital, which manages over $2.5 billion in assets across seven funds and investment vehicles, is deploying the tail end of its third PE fund.