Celebrity shoutout platform Minly acquires Dubai’s Oulo to consolidate reach 

Celebrity shoutout platform Minly acquires Dubai’s Oulo to consolidate reach 

DUBAI: Egyptian startup Minly is acquiring Dubai-based celebrity shoutout platform Oulo to combine services and reach for an undisclosed value. The platforms allow fans to connect with athletes, musicians, and other celebrities, and the merged business will combine the pair’s roster of celebrities across the Arab region. “Historically, the majority of pan-Arab celebrities were either Egyptian or Lebanese. Therefore, combining forces unlocks immense synergies as, together, we dominate the two most important sources of cultural content,” Kamal Nazha, Oula’s founder, said. The acquisition follows Minly’s recent seed round where it raised $3.6 million off the back of a year of growth for the platform. It acquired 130,000 users and 1,000 celebrities in just over a year. “Our mission is to become the number one creator economy platform in the region, and speed to market is critical to achieving this,” Minly chief Mohamed El-Shinnawy told Tech Crunch in an interview.