Egypt-based property technology (proptech) platform Sakneen, has raised a $1.1 million seed funding round led by Algebra Ventures with participation from Sarwa Capital and Foundation Ventures.

Other investors participating in this round include US-based real estate private equity firm, Hem+Spire, Saudi Arabia-based fund, Nakhla VC, along with angel investors from Google, BlackRock, and McKinsey among others.

Founded in 2019 by Ramy Khorshed and Hussein El Kheshen, Sakneen helps homebuyers search for listings. 

"With the latest strategic investment from Sarwa Capital, the publicly listed financing group behind Contact Cars & Contact Financing, we have firm backing by industry leaders and are well-positioned to launch products across different vertical and delight our customers with new and unique experiences,” Ramy Khorshed, CEO  and co-founder of Sakneen.

"It's a multi-billion-dollar opportunity in a region with strong demographics and growth. Also, the very low technology penetration and lack of publicly accessible data create a huge information asymmetry. Early adopters of data-driven tools have a tremendous opportunity and I think that's what our backers are excited to help us deliver on,” he added.

In August 2020, the startup graduated from the Y Combinator programme in the US. In November, it partnered with real estate brokerage firm, Coldwell Banker Egypt, to develop digital capabilities and offerings for both sellers and buyers.

“Our incredible tech team [is] actively working on several new features that will be launched over the next few weeks, in addition to a couple of completely new products we're excited to release shortly afterward,” said Hussein El Kheshen, chief technology officer (CTO) and co-founder of Sakneen.

Omar Khashaba, principal at Algebra Ventures said: “Sakneen brings unique efficiencies to the real estate market, which despite heavy VC funding, hasn't seen enough disruption. Trying to find a home online today is often a frustrating experience, plagued by inaccurate listings and overzealous brokers. We believe Sakneen can meaningfully differentiate itself by re-inventing the search experience and managing the supply side in novel ways. Ramy and Hussein are both world-class founders with the right skill sets and domain expertise. We're very excited to be part of their journey."