Press Release.
Hope Ventures, the investment arm of Hope Fund and producers of Beban TV show, co-invests USD 200k in Localeyedalongside the private sector on the ninth episode of Beban Season 2, which can be streamed on Shahid platform for free, or watched at 6 PM on Bahrain TV and 9:30 PM on Alrai TV.
Through episode 9, Localeyed, a subscription-based platform that provides localized stock images to agencies and corporates across the GCC, co-founded by Ali Alriffai, Mohamed Usama, Imtiaz Albalooshi, Mostafa AlWakil, and Ahmed AbdulMagid, successfully raised USD 200k from Hope Ventures and the private sector comprising of Saudi angel investor Mr. Khalid Almahfouz, Chairman of Tenmou Suhail Algossaibi, and Founding Partner of JEO Capital Management, Mashael Fairooz.
Commenting on the co-investment, Fajer Al Pachachi, General Manager at Hope Ventures, said: “The co-founders of Localeyed are a great example of how passion can be turned into a career through entrepreneurship. They are all industry experts who turned a challenge faced by businesses of different sizes in the MENA region, which is the lack of local representation in advertisement material, into an opportunity. I look forward to witnessing their growth and success with the aim to become a global platform for Arab content and images.”
Mashael Fairooz, Founding Partner at JEO Capital Management, commented on her co-investment: “I consider myself to be a Beban veteran, as I was part of the show’s pilot season as well. What encourages me to return is the ease of access to promising local opportunities, like Localeyed, whom I am thrilled to be co-investing in and strategically accelerating their growth. I look forward to contributing to empowering the business to expand internationally.”
Suhail Algosaibi, Chairman of Tenmou, commented on Tenmou’s co-investment: “As Bahrain’s first Angel Investment company, we are excited about this co-investment in Localeyed alongside Hope Ventures and the private sector. The co-founders’ drive and the work they achieved to date have proven their dedication to the business, and we look forward to adding value and helping them further scale in the MENA region.”
Ali Alriffai, Co-Founder of Localeyed, commented on their fundraiser: “We started localeyed, having been part of the advertising industry and noticing the struggle of local companies and corporates in finding Arabic-looking model images to be used for business purposes. We are proud to have launched a 60,000 images library covering authentic GCC images. With this investment raised through Beban TV show, we will further grow our team and enhance our marketing efforts to be the number one stock-images provider in the Arab world.”
Episode 9 was moderated by His Excellency Aymen bin Tawfiq Almoayed, Chairman of Hope Fund, who was also representing Hope Ventures’ investments.
The last episode of Beban will air next Wednesday, March 8th 2023, on Bahrain TV at 6 PM, and AlRai TV at 9:30 PM. You can also stream it at the time that works best for you on Shahid for free, or tune in for the show on Fridays on Dubai TV at 10:30 PM.
To stay up to date with all-things-Beban, make sure you follow the show’s accounts on social media @bebanme.