Homegrown Kids App Play:Date Announces Investment Partnership with Nakeiya Ventures

Wednesday 12 December 2018
Dubai - MENA Herald:

Play:Date, an interactive social application, enabling parents to set up playdates for their little ones, today announced that it has entered into an investment partnership with Nakeiya Ventures, a private equity firm.

The partnership will involve Nakeiya leading from a strategic perspective, assisting Play:Date in investor relations, global business growth strategy and legal know-how. Both parties will work in coalition to further grow the app, by primarily increasing its presence in the Middle East, followed by global expansion plans.

The firm initially invested an undisclosed amount into Play:Date in 2017, to lead the first seed round and guided them through their proof of concept and business model testing phase successfully. Moving forward, Nakeiya will lead the Play:Date Series-A funding round, with its leading limited partners during January 2019.

Shamim Kassibawi, Founder & CEO of Play:Date, said, “Nakeiya Ventures is an experienced growth investor that has an established track record. By leveraging their expertise and industry knowledge, I’m confident that Play:Date is headed in an extremely exciting direction, and will reach its next targeted level of success. Another strategy that we are keen on implementing within the internal Play:Date team, is to offer mums returning to work, job opportunities with flexible timings.”

Play:Date allows parents to engage with each other based on the interests and personalities of their children, further expanding a parent’s network within the community. In addition, the app also features various vouchers and offers, exclusive to Play:Date members, giving brands access to a direct channel to connect with their customer base for continued exposure and brand recognition. The app also hosts regular playdate tours at various play areas across the UAE.

“Play:Date is an innovative project with excellent prospects for growth and value creation. This investment presents an opportunity for us to accelerate and capitalize on Play:Date’s momentum, while providing  them access to our strategic resources and skills to help support their vision” comments Kunal G. Wadhwani, CEO & Managing Partner of Nakeiya Ventures.  “Play:Date founder, Shamim Kassibawi’s belief, ambition, aptitude and attitude has struck the right chord with Nakeiya’s leadership, and we look forward to working closely with the Play:Date team. This is a partnership that we believe will be beneficial to both parties.”, adds, Managing Partner, Yalman A. Khan.

Nakeiya Ventures work alongside several entrepreneurs in a detailed and constructive manner, increasing value by using a unique ‘value-map’ based operation support methodology. Their core strategy is to aid entrepreneurs towards rapid growth, while making a significant social impact.

After two years of development and successful market testing in the UAE and the USA, Play:Date is available for download on iOS and Android.

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