Ammon News -
AMMONNEWS – Oasis500, the MENA region’s premier early stage and seed investment company, secured two new investment deals for start-up companies “Dakwak.com” and “Masmoo3” from its first Angel Investment event, and also signed a partnership agreement with “Akhtaboot.com”.

The announcements were made during a press conference held on 6th September, 2011, attended by Oasis500’s CEO and former Executive VP of Yahoo! inc, Dr. Usama Fayyad and representatives from all three companies.

During the press conference, Mr. Emile Cubeisy the Managing Director of IV Holdings announced its investment in “Dakwak.com” resulting in a 300% increase in the Company’s post money valuation and Mr. Ihab Al-Ramlawi announced his personal investment in “Masmoo3” which increased their post money evaluation by 400% since joining the Oasis500 Angel Network.

“Our proven methodology is helping an ecosystem that will sustainable job opportunities and help transform the region into a technology business hub that will generate more revenue for Jordan and the Middle East. Startups that have joined our Angel Network have already gained 3 –7 times their initial valuation in only 3 – 4 months”, said Dr. Fayyad. He went on to say how pleased he was with the outcomes of the first Oasis500 Angel Network Event, which resulted in six new deals for the six participating startups.

During the press conference, Dakwak.com Founder and CTO, Waheed Barghouthi, said, “Oasis500's help and support has been a major factor in our success. They are providing start-ups in the region with just the kind of backing they need in order to grow and become profitable. The investment in Dakwak will help us grow our business on a bigger scale and develop richer features that will enable us to attract more customers to our website”.

Commenting on the deal, Mr. Emile Cubeisy Managing Director of IV Holdings: "As a Venture Capital, we have invested in several companies in the region but what we are seeing in Jordan and Oasis500 is different. The way they nourish the entrepreneurs and help them to accelerate their business, and the ecosystem that Jordan provides for ICT startups makes it a heaven for entrepreneurs in the region." He also added: "Dakwak management team is indeed very special, they have great technical skills and they have created an intellectual property that has great value and potential. They have the spirit of the entrepreneurs that we would like to take to the next level."

In turn, Masmoo3 CEO, Ala'a Sulieman stated, "I foresee a bright future for Arabic audio books in the region. Through this investment, and Oasis500’s continuous support and guidance, we are confident that Masmoo3 is well on its way to becoming a leader in the audio books’ field within a very short period of time. Our audio books will be available through several channels such as Apple’s App store, Google Android, Windows Mobile 7, our website and others".

Ihab Ramlawi commented: "This is the first of my investments in Jordan and in the ICT field. I have attended Oasis500 Angel network event, and was impressed with the process and the quality of entrepreneurs and startups they have. My decision to invest in masmoo3 was based on the trust I had for Oasis500 and the management team of Masmoo3 and the future prospect masmoo3 will have."

Dr. Fayyad also said, “We are proud of both Dakwak.com and Masmoo3 for attracting investments within such a short period of time, and we wish them the best of luck in the future.. I would also like to thank Mr. Emile Qubaisi, Director of IV holdings, and Mr. Ramlawi for believing in our entrepreneurs and being part of our growing network of international investors”.

Under its new partnership agreement with Akhtaboot.com, Oasis500 will provide all its eligible companies’ websites with the revolutionary Career Connect platform, powered by Akhtaboot.com. The platform equips companies with a customized, fully integrated and branded Jobs’ section, allowing them to post unlimited job listings and receive job applications directly onto the Careers’ section of their websites. In addition, Oasis500 companies will also receive a wide range of online recruitment and social media services to help post their vacancies across the World Wide Web.

The Oasis500 Angel Network Event, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East, aims to highlight the most exciting, fast-growth and investment-ready early stage ICT, digital media and mobile companies in the MENA region. Oasis500’s second Angel Investment Event is scheduled for 12th September, where new startups will be given the opportunity to pitch to and network with attending early-stage, international and local investors.