As its first investment in the market, Lorax Capital Partners Fund II has announced today that it has acquired a significant minority stake in DSQ Group (Umbrella company of Dsquares and Lucky).
LCP’s investment includes a capital increase to support scaling and expansion plans for the mother company within the region and worldwide.
DSQ Group owns and operates Dsqaures, the leading loyalty and rewards solutions provider across MENA and Central Europe, currently serving over 100 million customers through around 45 regional and international clients.
Also, Algebra Ventures, an Egypt-based VC firm and an existing shareholder in DSQ Group, announced it had increased its investment as part of the aforementioned transaction.
LCP has also acquired the minority stake of Ezdehar Management in Dsquares. Ezdehar had originally invested in Dsquares back in 2018, which gave it a 22.5 percent stake.
Founded in 2012 by Marwan Kenawy, Ayman Essawy, and Momtaz Moussa, Dsquares is a full-service loyalty solutions provider in the Middle East & Africa. It operates the full spectrum of customer loyalty for clients from technical, operational, and commercial aspects, which helps clients increase and capitalize on customer loyalty and retention. The startup boasts a large spectrum of key industry players in banking and finance, FMCG, and Telecommunications, among other industries.
The DSQ group also owns Lucky, an app built to offer everyday clients a wide range of discounts from retail brands, which now has over 5 million downloads under its belt, not to mention a varied collection of brands.
According to the press release, Marwan Kenawy, Co-founder & CEO of Dsquares, said, “The LCP partnership and investment will help Dsquares expedite its clients and merchants expansion plans in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe and maintain its position as the loyalty & rewards solutions leader in the region.”
While Ayman Essawy, Co-founder & COO, added: “Lucky continues to be very successful in attracting new users as well as increasing engagement of its existing user base. Egypt is our first market, and we have plans to further expand our services across relevant markets in the Middle East & Africa. We believe that this strategic partnership with LCP will put both Dsquares & Lucky on the right track to achieve their future goals.”
Al Tamimi Law Firm acted as the legal advisor to LCP on the deal, while the company’s legal advisor was Youssef & Partners.
