With a young and ever-growing population combined with high-growth in startup companies across a multitude of industries including fintech, biotech, SaaS, logistics, retail, and edtech, MENA’s startup boom is set to significantly impact the wider global economy.
As the adage goes, with growth comes the need for capital, which is where Kuwait-based venture builder The Taken Seat comes in. As a leading VC that leverages an internal complementary ecosystem of talent, proprietary knowledge, and infrastructure, the company utilizes critical resources to build new ventures from the ground up through institutional funding with the ultimate aim of helping companies achieve successful exits.
Co-Chief Executive Officers Musab and Abdullah Al Mutawa were among the first to appreciate the true value of direct communication with their beneficiaries at all stages of the startup journey and embarked on a partnership with CEQUENS to deploy SMS API. To date, they have engaged in thousands of conversations with their existing and prospective clients in Kuwait, UAE, KSA, and beyond. Chief Technology Officer Tiago Ferreira has been the core point of contact and the bridge and between CEQUENS and The Taken Seat.
Can you start by telling us about The Taken Seat and its role in helping startups achieve success?
The Taken Seat, based in Kuwait, is a venture builder that strives to galvanize the startup ecosystem across the MENA region. Apart from guiding startups, we place strong emphasis on nurturing our own internal ventures. Utilizing our talent pool, proprietary knowledge, and infrastructure, we lead these ventures and startups from ideation to operationalization. The ultimate goal is to see these companies make successful exits, which we view as a testament to the strength of our startup ecosystem.
The journey of a startup is not without challenges. What kind of support do you offer entrepreneurs on their journey to help ease the pain?
Indeed, a startup's journey can be a roller coaster ride! At The Taken Seat, we offer a comprehensive array of support to entrepreneurs, which includes financial investment, strategic guidance, mentorship, access to an extensive network of industry connections, infrastructural support, and importantly, technological and engineering support. Our internally developed ventures also receive this full spectrum of support.
A VC often looks for digital transformation in companies it’s assessing, it is incredible that you are also onboard. What inspired you to switch gears?
In the ever-evolving landscape of business, change is the only constant. We saw the transformative power that technology holds in reshaping industries and business models. We realized that if we wanted to stay at the forefront of the venture capital sector and truly support our startups and internal ventures, we needed to adapt and innovate too.
What truly inspired us to switch gears was the desire to lead by example. We want to be the drivers of change, not just the facilitators. By embracing digital transformation ourselves, we aim to show our portfolio companies that agility, adaptability, and openness to technological advancements are keys to success in the contemporary business world.
Why did you choose to invest in CPaaS solutions specifically?
We chose to invest in CPaaS solutions after understanding their ability to offer seamless, scalable, and flexible communication services across multiple platforms. Implementing CEQUENS's solutions has brought significant security improvements for our portfolio and internally developed ventures, leading to increased user trust and more positive business outcomes.
How are you using CEQEUNS products?
The technology is primarily used for operational communication, specifically for sending OTPs for authentication. This plays a crucial role in enhancing the security of our operations and building trust with our users. The implementation of this reliable and secure communication technology significantly contributes to daily operations and overall business success.
What’s next in terms of growth for The Taken Seat?
The Taken Seat has robust growth plans. We aim to expand our portfolio by identifying promising startups across various sectors, while continuing to nurture and develop our internal ventures. We plan to leverage digital transformation to make our processes more efficient, thus providing better support for our startups, including technological and engineering guidance. We also aim to increase our influence across the MENA region, making a significant contribution to its vibrant startup ecosystem.
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