#102 This week In MENA's Startup Scene!
Dive into the latest Startup News, Trends & Opportunities shaping the MENA region
Welcome back to MENA Startup Digest!
We are bringing you the latest round-up of startup news, updates, and opportunities in the MENA region.
Fundraising Roulette
Comfi (UAE/FinTech) secured $65M Pre-Series A to scale its B2B embedded finance platform, strengthen AI-driven underwriting, and expand SME working capital access across MENA
Udora (UAE/Gifting Marketplace) secured $10M to expand into KSA, grow its SME-powered gifting marketplace, and enhance AI-driven tools for personalization and customer support
Lola (Bahrain/FoodTech) raised $3M Seed to build a central production facility in Dammam, scale its custom cake platform, and expand its celebration services across the GCC
AngelSpark (UAE) invested in Kubo Care to scale its privacy-first eldercare monitoring platform, advance radar-based health intelligence, and support global senior care expansion
Falak Investment Hub (KSA) backed AI-Skilled to expand its AI-powered digital employees platform for outbound sales, lead generation, and business development automation
Shorooq invested in Chazm (South Korea) $10.3M Series A to expand into the Middle East and bring data-driven auto finance infrastructure to the region
More rounds → here
Featured Opportunity For MENA Startups
Free Startup Desk at We Make Future 2026 | Bologna, Italy
A free startup package for selected startups to join We Make Future from June 24-26, offering a startup area desk, B2B meetings with governments, corporates, and investors, access to side events and Innovation Night, startup competition opportunities, free team tickets for future WMF events in KSA and Milan, and potential access to an Italian government soft-landing program
Interested startups can email Contact@menastartupdigest.com with their startup name, one-liner, sector, and pitch deck
Main Headlines
UAE launched a $1.36M Social Content Fund to support emerging creators, strengthen family-friendly digital media, and accelerate the country’s AI-powered creator economy
Saudi Investment Company backed BRKZ to digitize industrial procurement, expand direct market access for manufacturers, and streamline supply chains across the Kingdom
Sheraa launched a AED 5M Entrepreneurs Resilience Fund to support startups and SMEs in manufacturing, food security, healthcare, and essential supply chains IN uae
Rain Financial (Bahrain) acquired Digital Ma’arefa to expand into financial media, strengthen regional trust, and support regulated crypto education across MENA
Oman established an AI Special Economic Zone in Muscat to attract global AI companies, drive foreign investment, and advance Oman Vision 2040’s digital economy goals
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
UAE ranked #1 globally for entrepreneurship for the fifth consecutive year, reinforcing its startup ecosystem strength, founder support infrastructure, and access to funding
Sheraa concluded Agriboost 2026 with five agritech startups pitching solutions for food security, agricultural sustainability, and UAE-focused farm innovation
Orange Jordan named 10 finalists for its Inspiring Change Award to support women-led tech startups, recognize digital innovation, and promote social and environmental impact in Jordan
Qatar University launched Entrepreneurs’ Deal to help students turn academic ideas into viable ventures, build business plans, and access expert mentorship in Qatar
Athar+ (UAE) awarded AED 1M in grants to 15 social enterprises to scale impact-driven solutions, support youth entrepreneurs, and strengthen Abu Dhabi’s social innovation ecosystem
Oman celebrated 32 student-led projects at the Rekaz Entrepreneurship Award to promote youth innovation, entrepreneurship skills, and knowledge-based economy development
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
Talabat Egypt opened MENA’s largest express commerce hub to strengthen logistics infrastructure, improve inventory efficiency, and support grocery delivery across Egypt
Kiwe (Egypt) received final CBE approval to launch its social payments app and card, enabling users to manage, share, and track money more easily
Cashew and Mashreq launched AED 150,000 embedded loans to expand beyond BNPL and finance high-value purchases across healthcare, education, automotive, and home improvement
PRYPCO (UAE) expanded fractional property investment to Iraq to give investors access to Dubai real estate from as little as $137
Cash Plus (Morocco) launched instant bank transfers to expand its 4M-user mobile app and strengthen its financial services ecosystem across Morocco
NyuktAI (UAE) won Eureka! GCC’s top prize for its agentic AI automation platform, highlighting rising demand for specialized AI startups across the Gulf
Zid (KSA) entered the Syrian market through a strategic partnership with ROVO to build e-commerce infrastructure, digital payments, and logistics tools for local merchants
Nabrah (KSA) outperformed global speech recognition rivals in Arabic STT accuracy, strengthening Saudi-built voice AI for enterprise and government use
Risha.ai (UAE) launched an integrated Arabic AI platform to help creators generate scripts, images, videos, dubbing, and localized content across regional dialects
More highlights → here
Open For Application
Prompt and Play AI Game Development Hackathon | Jordan
A 3-day AI game development hackathon for creators, developers, and innovators, offering cash prizes up to 1,500 JOD, Replit credits, expert workshops, and mentorship
Impact46 Gaming Fund | KSA / MENA
A SAR 150M gaming fund for early-stage gaming startups, offering capital investment, strategic support, ecosystem access, and guidance to scale across KSA and the wider MENA region
Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project | Morocco
A green growth accelerator program for established SMEs in Morocco, offering expert support, practical workshops, green community access, and investment matchmaking
Takween Program | West Bank, Palestine
A training, mentorship, and grant program for home-based businesses, SMEs, startups, and cooperatives, offering grants of up to $6,000 and expert business coaching
More Programs and Opportunities → here
Cool Events TO Attend This Week
ReimaginED Networking Meetup | May 10 | Dubai
An exclusive EdTech networking meetup bringing founders, investors, and education leaders together to explore partnerships, future learning trends, and venture opportunities
KAU Angel Investor Program | May 11 | Jeddah
A specialized angel investor program for King Abdulaziz University affiliates, offering investment training, startup deal flow, and access to the Falak Angels network
Ignyte Investor-Exclusive Pitch Day | May 19 | Dubai
A curated investor-exclusive pitch day connecting 15 high-potential tech startups with regional and international investors for rapid pitches, live feedback, and capital access
More events → here
Techy Bytes
UAE renamed its Ministerial Council for AI and Development to embed AI into federal policy, legislation, performance, and government operations
AIJRF (UAE) launched AIML to train 100 Arab executives in Agentic AI, Management 4.0, cybersecurity, and AI-driven digital transformation
MBZUAI (UAE) developed DP-Fusion to prevent live AI models from leaking sensitive data, strengthen enterprise privacy, and protect high-stakes AI deployments
Digital Dubai unveiled an AI Integration Matrix to standardize government AI adoption, reduce project duplication, and coordinate deployment across public services
Algeria launched a national AI training program to equip startup-focused talent, strengthen applied AI skills, and support its growing digital economy
Iraq mapped a national AI strategy to build local AI infrastructure, develop a sovereign Iraq LLM, and advance the country’s digital transformation ambitions
More tech → here
That’s a wrap for this week!
We hope this week’s digest of the latest funding, insights, and ecosystem news helps you stay ahead in the fast-paced MENA region.
Stay tuned for more insights next week
More Topics: AI | Gaming | Fintech | Femtech | Events | Entrepreneurship | Proptech | Arabictech
More regions: KSA | UAE | Qatar | Egypt | Syria | Morocco | Palestine
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