Lune – a UAE-based data start-up co-founded by Helal Tariq Lootah, an Emirati entrepreneur, and Alexandre Soued – today announced it has successfully raised USD850,000 in its pre-seed round backed by Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), Flat6Labs, and several angel investors. The company, which unlocks unprecedented insight from consumers’ financial transactions, already operates across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and will leverage the cash infusion to scale across the entire GCC by the end of the year.
“While the region’s Banking and Finance Institutions are innovating at breakneck speed, the lack of detailed visibility into transactional data presents a formidable barrier to the sector. This lack of visibility prevents consumers from effectively taking control of their spending, and BFSIs from introducing or enhancing services based on customer preferences,” explained Lootah.
Lune is the region’s first data start-up entirely focused on democratising financial data and enabling institutions to empower the communities they serve.
Fatima Al Naqbi, Chief Innovation Officer at the Ministry of Finance and MBRIF representative, said: “Lune’s ability to raise US$850K in pre-seed funding underlines investor confidence in the UAE entrepreneurship ecosystem’s ability to foster highly innovative and disruptive startups that can support the country’s vision of becoming a global hub for the FinTech industry. Lune recently graduated from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator program and we are delighted to be an integral part of their journey to make finance simpler and more accessible to people. This is completely aligned with our mission to support the UAE National Innovation Strategy by nurturing entrepreneurs and start-ups that will have a positive economic and social impact.”
Lune is one of the 16 startups who have been selected to join Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, as part of its latest cohort of startups who chose Abu Dhabi as their launchpad for regional growth. With Hub71’s support, Lune will have the opportunity to accelerate innovation in the UAE’s FinTech sector and benefit from a network of corporate and government partners and investors who can help unlock growth opportunities.
In addition to joining Hub71, Lune was also a part of cycle 3 of the Flat6Labs Ignite program, a partnership between ADQ’s Disrupt AD and Flat6Labs.
