Dubai-based fintech Kema has raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by Berlin-based global early-stage investment firm Speedinvest. The round was also joined by Dubai Foundation District Fund (DFDF).
Kema was founded in 2023 by Michael Ghandour who previously co-founded Mumzworld and remained its Chief Operating Officer until 2018, and Akash Rao, the former Chief Technology Officer of Spotii, a Dubai-based buy now pay later platform.
The startup has built a product that makes it easier for businesses to manage their accounts receivable and accelerate their cash flow. Once set up, Kema can automatically send payment links for due invoices to clients of a business with different online payment options. A business can also integrate it with their existing checkout.
The platform offers a dedicated payer portal for each client of the business, enabling them to view all the outstanding invoices and pay them.
It comes with real-time invoice tracking, payment status updates, and automated reminders, helping businesses significantly reduce the time spent on managing receivables. Through its integrations, Kema also automatically applies invoices in a business’s accounting or ERP system.
The startup currently offers integrations for Quickbooks, Xero, Salesforce, Zoho, Odoo, and a few other products.
“Within minutes, businesses can unlock the benefits of using Kema by generating and processing invoices, automatically embedding payment links and sending reminders, receiving payments via a variety of digital channels, and getting real-time analytics on their cash flow,” said the startup in a statement.
Michael Ghandour, the founder and CEO of Kema, commenting on the problems they’re trying to address with their solution, stated, “Having worked with B2B SMEs, a healthy and predictable cash flow cycle remains elusive for many. The problem is compounded by the combination of persistent payment delays, manual invoice workflows and follow-ups, multiple disconnected systems, and limited access to SME financing. As a result, many businesses get stuck in a cycle of limited growth, increasing costs, and unproductive use of their most valuable resource, their employees’ time.”
The UAE startup claims to have facilitated $4.5 million in invoice since rolling out its private beta in the second quarter of 2023. Its co-founder and CTO Akash Rao said that their platform can now slash the receivables process by up to 50 percent.
Sharif El-Badawi, the CEO of Dubai Future District Fund, said, “Kema deeply understands SME financing pain points and is bringing a comprehensive solution to the market that is well-suited to the UAE and equally applicable for other emerging markets that we’ve looked at.”
Kema plans to use the funds to scale the solution across United Arab Emirates.
