News

MENA’s Biggest Online Piracy Site Shahed4U Shuts Down

The platform had been operating since 2015, and notched up 155 million monthly visits and around 18,700 movie files.

Published

1 year ago

February 28, 2023

Nour Nasir

mena's biggest online piracy site shahed4u shuts down

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Egyptian authorities have shut down one of the Middle East and North Africa’s largest online platforms for downloading pirated media, Shahed4U. The site’s servers were located in Alexandria and Cairo and offered access to 68,000 TV titles and 18,700 films.

shahed4u homepage

At its peak, the site’s traffic hit 155 million monthly visits across 118 domains and various copycat sites. Shahed4U had been distributing pirated content since 2015, and the closure follows those of Egybest and MyCima. Egyptian authorities were helped with the shutdown by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s foremost anti-piracy coalition.

Also Read: Best Video Streaming Services In The Middle East

“This spate of unprecedented ACE actions in the MENA region underscores our ever-expanding global reach and our growing relationships with law enforcement and local industry around the world [and is] core to ACE’s global goal of eradicating the illegal distribution of content and protecting the legal marketplace for content creators,” says Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE.

News

Mamo Completes $3.4M Funding Round To Enhance Fintech Services

The startup will use the influx of cash to expand into Saudi Arabia and across the wider GCC while improving its product offering.

Published

16 hours ago

July 25, 2024

Nour Nasir

Mamo

UAE-based fintech Mamo has announced the completion of a $3.4 million funding round that will help the startup extend its market presence and improve its product offering. Investors included 4DX Ventures, the Dubai Future District Fund and Cyfr Capital.

Mamo’s platform offers “payment collection, corporate cards and expense management” to help small and medium-sized businesses consolidate and streamline their operations. With the latest influx of capital, Mamo will further develop its comprehensive suite of services and begin testing its product lines in Saudi Arabia, further extending its footprint across the GCC.

Imad Gharazeddine, co-founder and CEO of Mamo, stated: “We’ve been in the market for a while now and are incredibly proud of what our team has achieved. The holistic and expansive nature of our product offering has helped us continue to grow sustainably. This additional funding will allow us to reach our medium-term goals even faster. The support from new and existing investors is a testament to our strong expertise and the ability to deliver on our customer promise”.

Daniel Marlo, General Partner of lead investor 4DX Ventures, added: “We have immense trust in Imad’s vision, leadership and Mamo’s innovative approach to provide a user-friendly and comprehensive financial solution for SMEs that makes financial management more accessible and efficient. We are proud to partner with them and support their mission”.

Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East

Amer Fatayer, Managing Director of Dubai Future District Fund’s investment team, also commented: “Mamo’s localized product lines serve as an infrastructure for SME payments and spend management in UAE, a segment that is underserved by the country’s current banking infrastructure. The team has taken a product-first approach to consolidating SMEs’ financial journeys and building a fintech solution deeply embedded in a business’s core operations”.

To date, Mamo has raised around $13 million in investment funding and now boasts a team of 30 people. The company’s intuitive financial services platform has allowed over 1,000 businesses to consolidate their financial operations and significantly reduce payment fees.