Bahraini start-ups raise $1.5mln on Beban

Bahraini start-ups raise $1.5mln on Beban

Two Bahraini start-ups have raised a total of $1.5 million during the fourth episode of Beban 2, the entrepreneurship themed reality TV show.

Filmed in Al Areen Palace and Spa by Accor this season, Beban features entrepreneurs pitching their businesses in front of a panel of regional investors for immediate investment and business opportunities.

The episode that went on air yesterday saw the show producer Hope Ventures lead the funding round alongside venture capitalists from Bahrain and Saudi.

YAS Holding, a group holding company that manufactures and supplies furniture with a focus on closets and kitchens, co-founded by Yasser Shuaib and Ali Al Haddad, raised $1.3m from Hope Ventures and Infracorp, the social infrastructure group recently established by GFH group, which was represented by its chief executive Majed Alkhan.

Also walking with a bag of money was RestHero, a B2B ‘software as a service’ solution that optimises sales through social media, co-founded by Dr Abdulla Alshimmari and Ahmed Khalifa.

It raised $200,000 from Hope Ventures and Saudi investor and co-founder of Riyadh Angel Investors, Dr Khalid Al Taweel.

Fajer Al Pachachi, general manager at Hope Ventures, said: “I am excited about the co-investments that occurred in this episode, as they represent a true attestation to the