What Pomegranate, INC does

Pomegranate Investment AB (publ) is a Stockholm-based publicly listed venture capital investment company founded in 2014 that holds minority equity stakes in high-growth consumer internet companies in emerging markets, with a concentrated focus on Iran's consumer internet sector. The firm operates a permanent-capital model through six disclosed portfolio companies: Digikala (11.7% stake, Iran's largest e-commerce platform with 40M+ monthly unique users and 308K+ marketplace sellers across retail, marketplace, fashion, digital content, and online supermarket), Café Bazaar Group (4.3% stake, operator of the largest Android app store in the Middle East serving 50M+ Persian-speaking users plus the Divar classifieds platform), Sheypoor (43.3% plus 1% ESOP, classifieds platform with 8-10M regular users), Griffon Capital (14.8% stake, asset management and investment banking including Toranj Capital, a top-ten Iranian independent asset manager), Takhfifan (24.4% stake, discount and fintech platform offering BNPL and cashback), and Alibaba Travel Group (2.8% stake, Iran's largest online travel agency). Pomegranate holds board representation in four of the six (1 of 5 at Digikala, 1 of 3 indirect at Café Bazaar Group, 2 of 5 at Sheypoor, and 1 of 5 at Takhfifan), giving it some governance influence despite minority status.

Name

Pomegranate, INC

Legal name

Pomegranate Investment AB (publ)

Website

https://pomegranateinvestment.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pomegranate Investment AB is a Stockholm-listed holding company with minority stakes in six Iranian consumer internet businesses, including e-commerce leader Digikala and app store Café Bazaar, serving European investors via OTC share trading.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

HoldCo / Permanent Capital ETA (FSANALAE)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Emerging market equity
• Portfolio management
• Private equity minority stakes
• Shareholder services

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pomegranate Investment AB is a Stockholm-based venture capital investment company that holds minority ownership stakes in six Iranian consumer internet companies spanning e-commerce, Android app distribution, online classifieds, asset management and investment banking, discount/cashback/fintech, and online travel. The firm provides capital along with active operational know-how to portfolio companies and offers shareholders a publicly traded vehicle (ticker POME, OTC on beQuoted) with exposure to high-growth emerging-market consumer internet businesses.

Product overview

Pomegranate Investment AB is a venture capital investment company that does not offer a unified product platform but instead holds minority ownership stakes in six distinct portfolio companies operating in the Iranian consumer internet and e-commerce space. The portfolio consists of: Digikala (e-commerce with retail, marketplace, and logistics); Café Bazaar Group (Android app store Bazaar and classifieds platform Divar); Sheypoor (general classifieds); Griffon Capital (asset management and investment banking, including Toranj Capital); Takhfifan (discount and fintech platform); and Alibaba Travel Group (online travel agency). Pomegranate provides capital and management expertise to these companies rather than operating a unified product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio of 6 main companies including leading e-commerce platforms, classifieds, and fintech services in Iran

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Pareto Securities ABcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvides OTC trading services for Pomegranate Investment shares, enabling investors to execute transactions through banks or directly via Pareto.
• Cision Sverige ABcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides the CisionPoint service used for distributing press releases and company financial reporting updates to subscribers.
• External Legal CounselcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConducts periodic reviews of Pomegranate's investment portfolio companies and their shareholders and board members for sanctions compliance.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers ABcoreOthersAuditor of Pomegranate Investment AB since 2014, with Nicklas Kullberg as auditor in charge.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• East Capital: Stockholm-based asset manager specializing in emerging and frontier European/frontier markets. Directly comparable emerging-markets investment focus and Swedish domicile, though structured as a fund manager rather than a permanent capital vehicle.
• VNV Global: Sweden-based permanent capital investment company focused on emerging market consumer internet and digital businesses. Most directly comparable peer — same chairman (Per Brilioth), same permanent capital model, similar emerging-market internet portfolio thesis.

Broad incumbents

• Investor AB: Sweden's largest listed holding company with controlling stakes across a diversified portfolio. Comparable permanent-capital, listed structure but with broader holdings and controlling (not minority) governance style.
• Kinnevik: Swedish listed investment company with a diversified portfolio across consumer internet, fintech, and emerging markets. Comparable as a public, Sweden-listed investment vehicle but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic mandate.
• Prosus / Naspers: Global consumer internet investment company with significant emerging-market exposure (originally focused on emerging-market tech). Comparable portfolio thesis of investing in category-leading internet platforms, though at vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Baring Private Equity Asia / EQT: Large global private equity firms with emerging-market exposure and Nordic roots (EQT). Comparable as institutional investors in growth-stage internet businesses, though at much larger fund scale.

Regional players

• Verdane: Nordic-based growth equity firm investing in technology-enabled consumer and software businesses. Comparable as a Stockholm-region tech investor with minority-stake approach, though primarily Nordic-focused versus Pomegranate's Iran focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pomegranate, INC