EGYPT – Egyptian startup SOKNA, which offers end-to-end funeral services to honor the deceased, has concluded a US$1 million pre-seed round to scale across the country.
SOKNA, launched in 2020 provides a full array of funerary services, including support in obtaining burial permits and paperwork, cemetery set-up, and transportation.
The platform also offers hall and condolences service booking, obituaries, ongoing charity arrangements, and souvenirs.
The US$1 million round was led by the Silicon Valley-based Mentors Fund, SBX Capital, ACE & Company, and Kabnoury Ventures.
Other participants in the round include Onsi Sawiris, Dr. Khaled AlMutabagani, Ahmed Sadek El Sewedy, and Farouk Kadous of ElSewedy Family Capital, Hisham Halbouny, Mo El-Bibany, Youssri Helmy, and Mostafa Amin.
The round also features senior executives from tech giants Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other prominent angel investors.
SOKNA now has operating partnerships with 20 hospitals and corporate deals across Greater Cairo so far, with more than 2,500 cases performed.
The company plans to expand across more cities after securing seed funding from leading regional and international funds.
“With this new funding and the incredible group of partners that joined us, we are ready to scale across the country and be able to support more families during the challenging times of grieving loved ones,” said Ahmed Gaballah, founder and CEO of SOKNA.
Additionally, SOKNA plays an active role in changing the prevailing culture regarding preparation for death arrangements.
The startup has launched its ‘Advance Planning Programme’, which allows people to make early decisions about funeral arrangements to ensure peace of mind for themselves and their loved ones, on their last farewell.
SOKNA has also entered into various agreements with companies that offer support to their employees during times of loss.
Currently, the company has over 50 full-time employees, who provide a full range of funeral services professionally from start to finish.
The company aspires to increase the number of its staff as well as the size of its services and products by enhancing the technology it relies on, enabling it to grow further, and expand in more cities in Egypt in the very near future.
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