UAE’s Entertainment and Education for Children Startup QiDZ Raises $1 Million Seed Round

QiDZ, a UAE-based one-stop platform for education and entertainment for children, announces the closing of their seed round with $1 million in funding. The round was led by 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Misk Innovation and UAE Business Angels, with further participation and support from OQAL Angel Investor Network, Oman Technology Fund and Delta Partners Ventures. The startup will leverage the funds gained to grow its team, enhance its product offering and expand their operations into other GCC markets.

Established in 2017, QiDZ was founded by Simona Agolini, Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt. The female-fronted startup is the first mobile application in the region to provide a variety of family-related entertainment and educational activities to children of all ages in one place. 

“With QiDZ, parents no longer need to spend hours searching for activities and agonizing over scheduling," says Simona Agolini, CEO of QiDZ. Our app helps to explore different locations in the vicinity, filter by ages and interests of their kids, and ultimately enjoy exciting, fun-filled activities that create long-lasting memories. We are grateful to all our investors who have believed in our business, our team and our growth strategies,” 

The mobile-based platform enables users to discover and book over 3000 specifically curated activities, deals, and restaurants specifically targeted to children to enjoy family-friendly fun with complete ease and convenience. 

“As the most active venture capital firm in the region, 500 Startups’ mission is to back the most talented entrepreneurs and help them create successful companies at scale. We are delighted to collaborate and support QiDZ, an all-female founded team, as they expand as pioneers in new target markets,” says Sharif ElBadawi, Managing Partner at 500 Startups.