Shared Vision To Smart Solution: Zest Equity
In 2021, two visionary and passionate leaders, Rawan Baddour and Zuhair Shamma, came together with a shared vision. While working in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) startup ecosystem, they repeatedly faced a frustrating problem— lack of transparency and clarity around equity management.
They noticed that founders, investors, and employees often struggled to keep track of who owned what, when investments were made, and how shares were managed.
Most of the startups were relying on messy spreadsheets to track ownership, funding rounds, and employee stock options. Essential details like who owned how much, when a particular investment came in, or how shares were transferred were often lost in messy files or unclear records. This lack of clarity led to confusion, miscommunication, and, in many cases, even legal and financial setbacks.
The situation became even more complicated when it came to secondary share transactions—when existing shares are sold from one party to another. There were few tools available to handle this process smoothly, and founders were left navigating sensitive transactions with little guidance.
Rawan and Zuhair had experienced these issues firsthand and knew this wasn’t just a local problem—it was widespread across the region. Instead of accepting it as the norm, they decided to build a solution that would simplify and secure the way equity is managed and traded.
Concept To Creation
That’s how Zest Equity was born. Based in Dubai, the platform was created to modernize the way startups handle ownership. It offered a digital solution where founders could track funding rounds, manage cap tables in real time, and conduct equity-related transactions securely and transparently.
Their vision was to make the entire equity management process—something that was previously complex and paperwork-heavy—smooth, legal, and stress-free.
But Zest Equity didn’t have an easy beginning. Convincing founders and investors to trust a digital platform with their most sensitive information wasn’t simple. People were concerned about security, regulatory compliance, and the reliability of an automated system replacing traditional legal and manual processes.
Rawan and Zuhair had to put in long hours not only building the technology but also educating the ecosystem—answering endless questions, providing demos, and building confidence in the product.
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Creating Zest Equity: A Platform With Purpose
What made their approach stand out was that Zest Equity wasn’t just another generic fintech tool—it was designed specifically for startups by people who had experienced the pain themselves. They knew exactly what the founders needed because they had been in their shoes.
With time, the platform began gaining traction. Founders started appreciating how easy it became to issue shares without paperwork, communicate with investors, and structure employee stock options in a way that was clear and fair. Even complicated secondary share sales could now be handled with legal clarity and security—all on one platform.
As word spread, Zest Equity caught the attention of more startups, angel investors, and venture funds—not just in the UAE but across the MENA region. It became a trusted name in the startup ecosystem, particularly for growing companies that needed to keep track of multiple shareholders and evolving team structures without losing control over their equity.
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A Simple Idea To Scalable Solution
Behind the growing success of Zest Equity were two passionate co-founders who weren’t just solving a business challenge—they were solving a fundamental structural flaw in how startups operate. Rawan and Zuhair combined deep industry knowledge with strong product intuition, and their work ethic turned a simple idea into a trusted, scalable solution.
What started as a response to a shared frustration has now grown into a multi-million-dollar company, helping founders around the world navigate the complexities of equity ownership with confidence.
It continues to expand globally, helping founders, investors, and employees align through transparent, tech-driven equity management.
Today, Zest Equity stands as a powerful example of how identifying a real-world problem—and solving it with empathy, precision, and vision—can lead to meaningful impact.
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