Abdul Haseeb Basit

A must read for ever founder and CFO. The importance of debt and thereby reducing dilution is well understood so is the risk of debt if things don’t pan out. Here is the science behind the same

2

1 Comment

Alphalytix Consulting, a portfolio company of the Islamic Fintech Fund, has released the Islamic Analytix Scorecard (IAS) covering the UK 🇬🇧 market. The report assesses companies in the FTSE 350 based on a 4 quadrant methodology to evaluate their Islamic Score, ESG Score, Financial Score, and Analyst Score across six pivotal sectors: Basic Materials, Healthcare, Energy, Communication, Technology and Utilities. The top 10 FTSE 350 companies based on the Islamic Alphalytix Scorecard are: Genus PLC (#GNS) South32 Limited (#S32) Oxford Instruments PLC (#OXIG) Informa PLC (#INF) DCC PLC (#DCC) BHP Group Limited (#BHP) GSK PLC (#GSK) Astrazeneca PLC (#AZN) Shell PLC (#SHEL) Pearson PLC (#PSON) The IAS report provides valuable insights to investors seeking alignment with Shariah-compliant principles. This methodology can be applied to other markets where data quality allows for comparative analysis. To learn more, reach out to the team at [email protected] Read the previous report covering the US 🇺🇸 market here: https://lnkd.in/g-qwNvv5 #IslamicFinance #IslamicAnalytix Omar R Aftab Sabir Mita Anwar Harris Irfan David (Daud) Vicary (Abdullah)Islamic Analytix #FTSE350

83

8 Comments

Scale-up business guide to getting investor-ready: THE FINANCIALS (2/7) Before approaching investors, you need to get your management accounts and everything associated with how you make money and spend money in order. This article explains the essentials of your business’ financials. #Business #investorready #financials

1

Which VC firms would you recommend talking to for a high potential payment card FinTech (London based) that will likely be looking to raise a Seed round in December and a Series-A round a few months later? I am currently talking to an entrepreneur who has a very interesting idea in the payment card sector that combines simplicity with huge potential for scalability. So far, he has funded his venture through friends and family and has been focussing on building the underlying technology and starting initial discussions with several potential industry partners. Given the nature of his proposed business, there are a couple of sources of relatively cheap initial funding that he will be looking to tap into over the next few months. He will be using this time to get the necessary partner agreements in place, prove that both his technology works and that he can gain traction for his proposition in the marketplace. In this phase he would likely stick to lower volumes and focus on gathering data on the extent to which his target audience engages with his initial product offering in order to build a high-quality investor pack ahead of the Seed stage fundraise. With this in mind, I am keen to start mapping out the main VC / PE houses that may be interested in funding such a venture and identify contacts in those businesses with whom I can engage further when the start-up is ready to start raising their Seed round. I would greatly appreciate your suggestions on which VC firms you are aware of that might be interested in such a start-up, and if possible someone in that business that you would suggest making contact with. By the time the start-up is ready to start raising a seed round I would like to have a number of contacts in different firms that I can start engaging with. If any recruiters that I am connected to can help put me in touch with relevant contacts in their VC networks, I will certainly keep you in mind when it comes to hiring staff for the start-up. I am always happy to connect with executive level recruiters and investment team members in venture capital or private equity firms. Please feel free to flag up this post to any VC contacts you think may be interested. #VentureCapital #fundraising #recruiting

7

🔍 Is tokenisation the future of capital markets? As we edge closer to widespread adoption? What are the realities and challenges that come with it for financial institutions? Join us at the Mansion House Summit this week, where I’ll be discussing this topic alongside Duncan Moir from Abrdn and Abeetha Pitigala from Goldman Sachs. Excited to see you all there! James Bowater #MansionHouseSummit #Tokenisation #CapitalMarkets #Fintech

70

2 Comments

ANNOUNCEMENT: We just launched our diversified fund investments feature on Mainshares 😲 Starting today, accredited investors can invest in SMB acquisitions managed by sophisticated investors via Mainshares I’ve been telling you all that we’re here to change the game of SMB investing for the better, and this is a huge step for us. Before, SMB investing was commonly done on a deal-by-deal basis, and depending on who you are, you may not have the time to spend parsing out every deal. Well now, investors on our platform have access to deals across a variety of industries, geographies, and deal structures in this (traditionally) inaccessible and fragmented asset class. Invest in ~20 SMBs, all with a single investment. Join the Mainshares train before we take off like a 🚀 Link below for diversified SMB investing 👇

81

6 Comments

I first learned of TeamApt (now Moniepoint) through my brother, Olumide Soyombo In 2021, Verod engaged with Tosin Eniolorunda, he presented an ambitious vision that, candidly, seemed beyond typical PE growth trajectories. Fast forward to today: Moniepoint Group has processed over $182B in payments, demonstrating exceptional resilience through Nigeria's complex operating environment. What sets Moniepoint apart is their profound understanding of mass-market financial services, combining sophisticated technology with practical distribution networks. Their hybrid online-offline approach has proven crucial in a market where conventional digital-only channels fall short. Under Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike's leadership, they've built an intricate network serving over 2 million merchants through 11,000 distribution associates. Congratulations to the Verod team Adewale Odusanya, CFA Dipo Okuribido, Gbenga Abogan, Oluebube Ezeoke, ACA, Gideon Adunola, for closing this transformative partnership. Welcome to the Verod ecosystem, Moniepoint Group. Here's to building Africa's financial future together. #FinTech #Impact #AfricanInnovation #PrivateEquity #Ecosystem #Verod

75

3 Comments

fundcraft Raises €5 Million Series A Round Led by aperture.co! 💸 📈 fundcraft‘s technology-centric value proposition CENTRALISES and AUTOMATES processes, data, and stakeholder interaction to lower costs and deliver better customer outcomes 🌏 The funding round will be used by fundcraft to expand its product and market reach, as it plans expand into NEW markets, including Spain and Germany 👨‍💻 Victor Martin Garcia, co-founder and CTO said, “The Asset Management industry’s technology stack is antiquated, spreadsheet-driven and inefficient. We look forward to continuing to invest into our custom-built platform and working with best-in-class tech providers where relevant. Our services will disrupt and disintermediate the incumbents in the industry, but it’s our tech that supercharges our digitisation engine.” Find out more on the link below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/e5YiS3Tb Olga Porro Ben Robinson Julien De Mayer #funding #investment #fundinground

13

1 Comment

Anyone seen Leonardo DiCaprio Making Moves in Abu Dhabi? When Hollywood meets high finance, interesting things happen. Did you hear that Princeville Capital, who count Leonardo DiCaprio as an advisor, recently partnered with Abu Dhabi based Hub71's Climate Tech programme? It's not just a celebrity cameo - it's a signal of the booming investment landscape in the Middle East. Here's why fund managers and founders should pay attention: 1️⃣ Big Names Are Setting Up Shop - Princeville Capital isn't alone. Firms like Brevan Howard, Dalio Family Office, and PGIM have established a presence in the UAE recently. - General Atlantic and Marshall Wace are planning to open offices by year-end. - Nuveen, a TIAA company is also set to open in Abu Dhabi soon. 2️⃣ Opportunities Are Expanding - The influx of global asset managers means more networking opportunities and access to capital. - There's a growing appetite for investments in private equity, hedge funds, real estate, and climate tech. 3️⃣ Strategic Advantages - The UAE offers a strategic location, a business-friendly environment, and a vibrant ecosystem for innovation. If Leo sees potential here, maybe it's time you considered the Middle East for your fundraising efforts. Or, at the very least, there’ll be some good boat parties to attend at this year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December! That’s if you make the cut… 🎬⛵

43

1 Comment

2024 has been a defining year for stablecoins, with market cap peaking at $170bn📈. New entrants like PayPal’s PYUSD and First Digital’s FDUSD are gaining traction, while Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge marks a major step forward in embedding digital currencies with core financial services. One question looms large: is there a ceiling to this growth? Stablecoin issuers typically operate under a narrow banking model, holding reserves in safe assets like T-bills. Tether.io alone now holds $100bn in U.S. Treasuries, making it a top-20 holder. If stablecoins continue to grow at even half their recent rate, within four years, the top five issuers could hold $440bn in U.S. debt. In today’s terms, this would position them the 4th largest holder globally, just behind Japan, China and UK. 🌎 Such growth, however, holds risks⚠️. A sudden sell-off due to regulation or loss of confidence could spike yields and disrupt liquidity in short-term funding. Similarly, as capital shifts from traditional bank deposits to stablecoins, banks might have fewer resources to lend, impacting the money multiplier effect. A Federal Reserve Board study suggests this could lead to a contraction in the money supply if deposits increasingly move into reserve-backed stablecoins. It’s unsurprising that governments are paying close attention🧐. The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently discussed tokenising T-bills on a government-managed blockchain, while proposals like the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act and Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act seek to establish regulatory clarity in the U.S. How can we mitigate stablecoins' growing influence on U.S. debt? One option is to limit large redemptions to prevent sudden sell-offs, although the decentralised nature of DeFi makes it challenging to control the redemption flows🔄. A more feasible approach might be capping the percentage of U.S. T-bills that stablecoin issuers can hold - a change that holds major implications. If U.S. T-bill holdings are restricted, billions of capital could be reallocated to assets like cash, non-U.S. government bonds, commercial paper, or reverse repos. We might also see the rise of bank-issued stablecoins (such as Societe Generale - FORGE ’s EURCV), backed by commercial deposits. Non-bank issuers might be required to hold a significant portion of reserves in tokenised bank deposits, therefore, giving banks enough ammunition to continue to lend, maintaining credit creation akin to a two-tiered CBDC model. This evolving landscape could create substantial opportunities for the startup ecosystem🚀. Key themes to watch include (see the comments section for a full analysis): • Stablecoin diversification: Reserve Liquity Fortunafi • Tokenised liquid assets: BlackRock Fidelity International • Yield enhancements: Hashnote Ethena Labs Ondo Finance • Infrastructure solutions: Kaleido Adhara • Liquidity management: August (prev. Fractal) M^0 Labs • Treasury management: Palm Coinshift

142

11 Comments

Why should you listen to an accountant talk about funding for early-stage start-ups? You shouldn't... But what you SHOULD do is come listen to me put questions to early-stage investors Nic Lenz (angel investor and fundraising master) and Ben Davies at Praetura Ventures (you know, THAT Praetura that invests into early-stage start-ups). I'll be using my background, having raised £0.5bn plus for start-ups, to put what I think are interesting questions to these giants in the start-up scene. Then we're going to let you ask them whatever you want as well! So sign up to the webinar and if you're start up looking to raise funds see what you can learn that's practical support for your campaign. https://lnkd.in/eGb8qAAs

1

One big reason to bring IN-D - Power of AI back into our fold was this launch of a #virtualassistant for #structuredfinance.. We want to have the best digital ecosystem not only for the issuer and the investor; but also for the verification agent, underwriter, rating agency, calculation and paying agent. This is why, we believe, financial institutions would continue to join us for automation; and stay on for tokenization. I will be in NY in the second half of June. If you are a player in structured finance, I would love to share our roadmap and pick your brains on how the digital future of structured finance could look like...

38

3 Comments

The British Business Bank produced a great report last week on the performance of UK VC funds (link in comments) over the last 20+ years. As with all reports like this, it's really important to dig into the detail and not just rely on the headlines. In particular, I was keen to compare the performance of the best UK funds to those in the US. While accepting the limitations of the data (all performance data on VC is based on a very low sample size), it's still interesting to see how the UK funds in the BBB report compare to the Cambridge Associates US VC benchmarks. As you can see from the chart below, the top quartile benchmark for UK funds exceeded the US funds for the period 2002-2007. But the sample size for UK funds in this period is particularly low (eg just five funds for the 2004/05 period). Since 2008, the top quartile UK funds have underperformed the US benchmark, and since 2010 are much closer to the US median return than the upper quartile. There are some outstanding founders and companies in the UK and some strong-performing VC funds. But the reality of VC is that performance is driven by a small number of outlier investments. Without these, it's almost impossible to deliver 3x net returns to LPs. For the UK to really become competitive with the US, we need to see more UK-based companies able to scale and exit at valuations in excess of $5bn. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions to achieving this. We consistently hear from our VC managers that there is no shortage of capital for the best UK companies. Where there is a shortage is in the number of world-class founders looking to build in the UK. Get this right and the capital (and returns) will follow.

33

3 Comments

I see many opportunities for RWA (Real World Asset) tech in emerging markets. 👀 Speaking at the Global Blockchain Congress in Dubai last week, blockchain is an excellent example of solving the complexities of lending in emerging markets. 🌍 For example, short-term lending for invoice factoring, where traditional banking in these markets won’t touch, is widespread and safe in established markets. 🏦 We recently backed ZOTH, pioneering this space and bridging the gap between businesses seeking capital and investors.🚀 Where else do you see opportunities in the RWA sector? Lmk below.👇 #web3 #blockchain #crypto #rwa #startups

153

48 Comments

The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Accelerate conference 21 - 22 May is ground zero for the UK and Europe’s smartest investors and founders. With #VentureCapital money harder to find than Taylor Swift concert tickets, #venturedebt is having a moment! My panel on Day 2 moderated by Leon de Bono is a can’t-miss. We’ll unpack how founders can sensibly leverage debt to extend their runway and ease the path to an exit or next round. The seasoned investors joining me (Stephen Fahy & Stephanie Heller (Galantine) have deployed serious capital into some of Europe's biggest scale-ups. Whether you're a founder preparing to raise your next round or an investor, you need this VC alternative in your mental model. See you there. www.bvca.co.uk/accelerate #Fundraising #Venturedebt #venturecapital #acelerate2024 Fuse Capital BAFTA 195 Piccadilly

28

2 Comments

The white paper on the common UNIT settlement currency has many crucial points: 59 countries express interest in joining BRICS+ and have agreed to the UNIT settlement token, which is to be traded over Project mbridge. This cross border payment system, designed by China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE, has been tested in two trades. China has paid in digital Yuan to the UAE for oil and gold, which has been remonetized. The Shanghai Gold Exchange supports a new system, with 40% of the basket being gold. The UNIT settlement token is a significant deal, as it allows all BRICS+ members to trade in their own Central Bank digital currencies. However, if imbalances arise, the UNIT settlement token will be used, holding gold within the jurisdiction of the countries that possess it. This repatriation of gold is seen as weaponization of the dollar, as the BIS has instructed countries to repatriate gold and use it as a reserve asset. The new UNIT settlement token will be gold held within the borders of the countries that possess it, ensuring that all items in the unit reserve basket are freely tradable in gold terms for spot delivery at one of the unit nodes. This will maintain monetary autonomy and allow countries to trade with one another without relying on any single central authority.

12

4 Comments

"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

738

195 Comments