KUWAIT: Faith Capital alongside 500 Startups announced yesterday their recent participation in the $1.2m seed round of CaptainPanel, SaaS provider to operators of fishing charters, boat rentals, diving centers, and water sports activity organizers. The company also operates FishFishMe, an international marketplace for fishing charters and watersport activities. Both 500 Startups and Faith Capital will continue to aid MENA entrepreneurs in their international expansionist ambitions.
Abdullah Shalabi is the original Founder of FishFishMe, a watersports activity marketplace that operates around the world. Having listened to the needs of the business participants on the marketplace, FishFishMe created CaptainPanel, a SaaS product intended to help watersports business owners transition from pen and paper business and booking management, to a fully automated digital management tool. Captains no longer need to worry about unused capacity on their vessels, in their classrooms, or elsewhere in their business, as the combination of marketplace and SaaS tools allows for both complete utilization and total oversight.
"CaptainPanel is a growth partner for water sports companies. We provide business with in-person support, guidance and a tailored-made software which engages customers and manages the complex transactions typical of this industry. Both our approach and our software is supportive, simple and growth-focused. We understand the needs of this industry and have built our business to help yours - regardless of size," says Abdullah Shalabi, the Co-Founder and CEO, of CaptainPanel.
"FishFishMe and CaptainPanel are quickly becoming indispensable software platforms for anyone operating a watersports business in the Western United States and Mexico. As the tourism and hospitality sector continue to adopt technical solutions to age-old problems, small business owners reliant on the vibrancy of this sector will no longer fear the loss of value and opportunity caused by a lack of innovation in this space," says Abdulaziz Al Loughani, Managing Partner at Faith Capital.
Commenting on the announcement Hasan Haider, Partner, 500 Startups said: "We aim to invest in great founders, that are passionate and strive to achieve great results, and so we're happy to be investing in CaptainPanel and supporting Abdullah on his path to success. CaptainPanel has been shown to be greatly needed globally, not just in the MENA region and is helping boat captains and owners to more efficiently manage their businesses."
"We are committed to back MENA founders as they endeavor to create lasting value in the technology space across the world and especially in the MENA region," said Mohammed Jaffar, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Faith Capital. "We look forward to continuously providing support to our founders via our expansive team of professionals".