In this edition of Behind the Deal, Bayanat, a platform delivering the stories and trends shaping MENA’s tech landscape, sat down with Antoun Mouawad, VP Investment at IM Fndng, who shared the journey of investing in WeCheer, a pioneering customer experience management platform that navigated significant challenges and emerged stronger than ever.
IM Fndng: An Ecosystem Builder
Born and raised in Lebanon, Antoun’s career began in banking, but it wasn’t long before the startup ecosystem piqued his interest. His entrepreneurial journey started by building a startup focused on gamifying wellness in the workplace, taking it from idea to MVP to even securing a seed investment and piloting the project. Following this accelerator journey, Antoun found himself on the other side of the table, shifting roles—transitioning from building startups to investing in them. He joined IM Fndng as a Senior Associate, and now serves as VP of Investments, where he plays a key role in enabling Lebanon’s startup ecosystem.
IM Fndng defines itself as “advancing the investment ecosystem”, with a mission to fill gaps in Lebanon’s startup scene. The firm takes a proactive, hands-on approach to fostering innovation, “we've done investments, launched accelerators, built business angel groups," Antoun explains. "Since 2020, we’ve been focused on early-stage and growth-stage investments."
In mid-2024, IM Fndng’s investment model evolved to include the Lebanese diaspora, as long as their work contributes to the Lebanese economy in jobs and wealth. As part of this strategy, they typically write first checks of up to $500,000, while reserving additional capital for follow-on rounds.
Sourcing Diaspora Founders
For years, IM Fndng primarily invested in startups based in Lebanon. But the economic crisis transformed the ecosystem overnight. Founders, teams, and investors had to relocate. Some moved to Dubai, others to France or the US. The ecosystem quickly became decentralized.
As a result, IM Fndng had to rethink how it sourced deals. This is when they decided to reconnect with Karim Choueiri, a Lebanese diaspora entrepreneur based out of Switzerland whom they had known since the inception of IM Fndng.
The COVID Pivot
WeCheer first pitched IM Fndng just before the onset of COVID-19. At the time, co-founders Karim and Aurèle de Bosset had developed a smart bottle opener that enabled beer and beverage brands to track where and when their products were being consumed. But when the pandemic shuttered venues worldwide, the team was forced to quickly adapt—and conversations with IM Fndng were naturally put on hold.
Fast forward a couple of years and emerging from the crisis, WeCheer reimagined its product and business model. They evolved into a full-fledged customer experience management platform, empowering all Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands to collect first-party data, engage directly with consumers, and streamline campaigns and rewards through the use of QR codes. Having onboarded major brands like Kellanova, Mars, and Pernod Ricard, conversations with IM Fndng resumed—this time with even greater momentum.
Unlocking Consumer Engagement at the Last Mile
WeCheer is a data and engagement platform that enables global brands to connect directly with consumers and frontline sales staff—at the moment of purchase and consumption—even in third-party points of sale they don’t own or control.
Using smart, frictionless QR code activations (no app downloads required), consumers can instantly engage with a brand by scanning codes on products, receipts, or displays. Each interaction unlocks rewards and feeds real-time first-party data back to the brand capturing who, where, and when consumption happens.
What makes WeCheer truly unique is its ability to operate across any retail outlets, bars, restaurants, and other fragmented sales environments where brands typically have little to no visibility or influence. This bridges the execution gap, enabling precise, performance-driven engagement in places that were previously off the grid.
The platform also extends beyond consumers: it activates and incentivizes every stakeholder in the commercial chain—from field agents and distributors to retail staff—aligning them behind brand KPIs and capturing on-the-ground activity at scale.
By combining real-time data, precision marketing, and full-chain activation, WeCheer turns offline points of sale into connected growth engines—delivering measurable ROI and competitive edge where it matters most.
The Rationale Behind The Investment
What immediately stood out was the scale and clarity of WeCheer’s pivot. No longer confined to beer and beverage companies, the company’s ability to address the broader CPG market unlocked significant growth potential. Their traction with nearly 50 leading brands was a clear indicator of product-market fit and validation from some of the most recognized names in the industry.
A core driver of this success was WeCheer’s highly effective land-and-expand strategy. By initially piloting their solution in a single market or business unit, they demonstrated clear value and ROI from the outset. This early success generated natural momentum, allowing them to secure follow-on contracts with the same brands across additional geographies and business divisions. On top of that, WeCheer’s revenue model is designed for scalability, with brands paying both a subscription fee and a percentage of transactions. As transactions grow, so does WeCheer’s revenue, making it an attractive investment for venture capital.
Yet, beyond market potential and traction, it was the founder-market fit that truly set WeCheer apart. Karim’s extensive experience at Nestlé gave him a deep understanding of the CPG value chain and access to a powerful network, which he leveraged expertly. In fact, it allowed them to land Nestlé as an early customer.
It wasn’t just his expertise that impressed IM—it was Karim's resilience and ability to navigate the toughest of times. During the pandemic, while many startups faced layoffs and scaling back, Karim kept his team intact, pivoted the business model, and rapidly adapted the product to meet new market demands. In just one year, he successfully turned the business around, demonstrating his ability to lead through adversity and transform challenges into significant growth.
For IM, the opportunity to invest in a company with proven traction, clear product-market fit, and a strong founder was clear. They chose to participate in WeCheer's $1.7M pre-Series A round, confident in the company’s potential for rapid growth and job creation in Lebanon.
WeCheer’s Series A
Today, WeCheer has crossed $2.5 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), underscoring the strong demand for its platform and the growing success of its business model.
The company is now raising a Series A round to secure the capital needed to scale towards $50M in ARR. According to Antoun, driving consistent consumer engagement with QR codes across diverse touchpoints and regions will be key to sustaining growth.
IM Fndng’s Value Add
Securing capital wasn’t Karim’s only goal—he sought strategic partners, which is why bringing IM Fndng on board made sense. IM Fndng’s partnerships with Ecole42, a top coding school in Lebanon, and Jobs for Lebanon, part of Jobs for Humanity (another IM Fndng portfolio company), provide access to top engineering talent from Lebanon, giving the startup a valuable support network. Introductions to Series A investors and brands based out of Lebanon are also part of IM Fndng’s value creation agenda.
Lessons from the Investment
For Antoun, investing in WeCheer was a lesson in adapting to new market dynamics. One of the most significant takeaways was the value of rethinking traditional investment strategies. As IM Fndng began focusing on the Lebanese diaspora, rather than just startups based in Lebanon, it opened up a wider pool of talent and innovation. This shift in strategy allowed IM Fndng to tap into high-potential companies that might not have otherwise been on their radar.
Article Source: https://www.bayanat.pro/blog/the-story-of-im-fndng-s-wecheer-investment
