#107 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
🇸🇦 Think → $8M+ pre-seed · builds liquid-cooled AI hardware and orchestration software that pushes GPU utilization above 90% while cutting enterprise inference costs
🇦🇪 Azraq → oversubscribed pre-seed · replaces static due diligence reports with live AI risk intelligence for lenders and investors financing data centers
🇲🇦 ORA Technologies → $10M Series A · combines KOUL food delivery with ORA Cash payments to build a Moroccan commerce and fintech super app
🇸🇾 AlMkhtar → $100K Seed · digitizes Syria’s fragmented property and automotive markets by connecting buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords, dealers, and developers
🇪🇬 Mylerz → EGP 100M+ · strengthens its logistics, fulfillment, and technology infrastructure to handle growing e-commerce and cross-border delivery volumes across Egypt
🇸🇦 Golden Host → seven-figure Seed · scales a smart hospitality platform combining accommodation listings, hotel bookings, visa services, faster partner payments, and AI-powered operations
🇸🇦 Floaty Studio → $1M · develops mobile games for global audiences, including pirate strategy title Pirasea and hero-versus-robots action game Hero Squad
🇪🇬 Kuadra → new funding · uses AI to turn construction tender documents, procurement requirements, and project specifications from weeks of manual work into structured outputs within hours
🇸🇦 JIMCO → backed Bold Games’ $6M Seed · Saudi capital taps into Turkey’s mobile gaming engine and a veteran team focused on globally scalable puzzle games
More rounds → here
Main Headlines
🇦🇪 9Yards X acquired Libya’s Labeb AI to strengthen its Arabic NLP, generative AI, and sovereign AI capabilities for government and enterprise clients across MENA
🇦🇪 Dubai Future District Fund backed MetaProp Fund IV to bring the US PropTech investor’s accelerator and early-stage portfolio into Dubai’s real estate innovation ecosystem
🇲🇦 Jaida reached $470M in cumulative financing and expanded beyond microfinance to fund cooperatives, aggregators, and other social economy organizations across Morocco
🇯🇴 Jordan Entrepreneurship Fund committed $5M to Saudi VC STV to build a Jordan-KSA AI corridor connecting startups with capital, enterprise expertise, and regional markets
🇪🇬 Vercel acquired Stakpak to add autonomous DevOps infrastructure to its AI Cloud platform, bringing the Egyptian-founded startup’s natural language infrastructure tools into its global stack
🇸🇦 SyarahApp was acquired by a group operating 1,790+ fuel stations to integrate digital fuel payments, consumption tracking, and fleet management across one of KSA’s largest station networks
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
Oraseya Capital selected eight startups from more than 1,000 applicants for its latest SANDBOX cohort, with a strong focus on AI, proptech, fintech, logistics, gaming, and computer vision
Creativa Innovation Hubs selected 27 Egyptian pre-seed startups for its fourth incubation cohort, allocating EGP 9.7M in funding, mentorship, technical support, and investor access
Tech Town opened a new innovation hub in Damascus with startup incubation, co-working spaces, and specialized labs for AI, cybersecurity, IoT, and virtual reality
Dubai SME integrated the Hamdan Innovation Incubator into Dubai Founders HQ and launched a 16-week program for 20 Emirati founders, building from idea stage to MVP
Orange Corners Palestine marked five years in the market, graduated its ninth startup cohort, and launched its first Alumni Awards for standout Palestinian founders
The VentureX awarded EGP 150,000 to Egyptian AI startups after narrowing more than 80 applicants to 16 finalists, while also launching an investment readiness program with Startup Sync
Bina Mauritania launched a new IsDB-backed incubator to support youth-led startups and small businesses with local capacity building, cohort development, and investor connections
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
🇦🇪 Tabby (FinTech) launched Tabby Cash, a fee-free account and debit card alternative, moving deeper into everyday banking after attracting 150,000+ waitlist sign-ups
🇶🇦 Snoonu (Super App) partnered with Sohar International to bring tailored banking, merchant finance, and fleet funding into its delivery and logistics ecosystem
🇸🇦 Jozo (PropTech) secured Sharia certification for its fractional real estate platform, giving investors independent assurance over its property selection, ownership, and income distribution model
🇧🇭 Mazad (Marketplace) became Bahrain’s first auction platform to integrate eKey 2.0, allowing users to register and log in through the Kingdom’s national digital identity system
🇴🇲 Mamun (FinTech) expanded its Hong Kong presence to build a two-way GCC-Asia trade finance corridor, with the city already handling around 40% of its settlements
🇱🇧 Storyland (EdTech) won the ESA-HEC Entrepreneurship Award for its AI app that creates personalized children’s stories and narrates them using cloned family voices
More highlights → here
Open For Application
🇲🇦 The Builders by CEED Maroc → Accelerator for Moroccan startups seeking hands-on mentoring, fundraising support, market access, and up to MAD 200K in grant funding. ⏳ July 20
🇲🇦 Ignite Morocco by Flat6Labs → Six-month incubation program for Moroccan startups with a validated POC, prototype, or MVP, offering mentorship, investment readiness support, and access to non-dilutive funding. ⏳ July 30
🇸🇦 Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global → 12-week Riyadh accelerator for MENA tech startups with an MVP and early traction, offering $100K+ investment, mentorship, growth support, and Demo Day access. ⏳ August 15
🇸🇦 Code Nine66 Gaming Incubator → Jeddah program for Saudi game creators, starting with a three-day Game Jam before selecting 10 teams for three months of incubation, playtesting, and investor preparation. ⏳ August 29
🇪🇬 Plug and Play Cairo Program — Cohort 8 → Three-month, equity-free accelerator for MVP and revenue-generating startups, offering AI-focused support, corporate partnerships, investor access, mentorship, and workspace at CREATIVA. ⏳ August 30
More Programs and Opportunities → here
Techy Bytes
Grand Egyptian Museum × Microsoft began exploring AI-powered visitor experiences, including personalized tours, multilingual virtual guides, interactive exhibits, and smarter museum navigation
Oman rolled out nationwide summer programs across multiple governorates to train students in AI, robotics, drones, app development, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning launched INSAIGHTS, an agentic AI tool that turns plain-language questions into analysis drawn from 7,500+ national economic and social indicators
SDAIA launched Saudi Arabia’s National AI Risk Management Framework, giving public and private organizations a unified process for identifying, assessing, treating, and monitoring AI risks
Bahrain’s NCST × CMEC launched an AI-powered inspection platform to digitize regulatory checks, flag compliance risks, and improve oversight across sectors such as construction, healthcare, and food safety
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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