#111 This week In MENA 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
🇦🇪 Naran → $10M Debt & Equity Financing · provides rent-to-own vehicle financing and fleet technology for ride-hailing and delivery drivers
🇯🇴 Arab Therapy → $2M Pre-Series A · provides Arabic-language digital mental health services, AI tools, and online therapy
🇸🇦 Fitting → $1.1M Seed · digitises construction procurement and supply chains, with SAR 150M+ in materials facilitated across 70+ projects
🇦🇪 Cobi → $1M Pre-Seed · uses AI to turn customer data into real-time insights and recommended actions for businesses
🇪🇬 Gameball → Undisclosed Pre-Series A Investment from LvlUp Ventures · uses AI-powered loyalty and retention tools to help consumer brands engage and retain customers
🇶🇦 Rasmal Ventures → Invests in Yuno’s $45M Series B · backing a global payments infrastructure platform connecting businesses to 1,000+ payment methods
🇶🇦 Ooredoo → $800M Investment in Zankore · launching an AI computing and neocloud platform with Nvidia, Nokia and Indosat
More rounds → here
Main Headlines
🇸🇦 Saudi Public Investment Fund approved its 2026-2030 strategy shifting toward efficiency, sustainable returns and six priority economic ecosystems
🇸🇦 Saudi Social Development Bank launched a $2.7M social investment fund with Nmaal to finance startups working in health, sustainability and social impact
🇸🇦 Wadi Jeddah plans a $10M VC fund for KSA startups targeting an early 2027 launch and the commercialisation of university research
🇸🇦 Khwarizmi Ventures partially exited Bosta at a ~3x net return, marking the Saudi VC firm’s sixth successful exit
🇪🇬 E-finance signed a deal to acquire 100% of Tamweely for up to $94M, combining its payments infrastructure with Tamweely’s SME lending business
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
Egypt’s FRA began live testing the first two projects in its fintech regulatory sandbox
Ma’an launched Athar+ in Abu Dhabi to support social enterprises, non-profits and impact organisations
Falak Investment Hub selected 10 female-led startups for the fourth Women in Tech cohort in KSA
Orange Corners Palestine unveiled five startups in the final batch of its Cycle 10 Pre-Acceleration Programme
Athar Accelerator brought 22 climate startups and SMEs to its Port Said bootcamp, with five set to receive €15K grants
Qatar’s MCIT graduated 10 tech companies from Wasil Cohort 3 and launched Cohort 4 with 12 new companies
Algeria Startup Challenge launched its 8th edition with four innovation challenges across greentech, health, insurance and harm reduction
Wadi Jeddah selected 10 startups for its incubation program and invested SAR1M across the cohort
Mastercard Lighthouse UAE selected six AI startups for its inaugural four-month mentorship program
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
🇦🇪 Talabat (FoodTech) raised its 2026 guidance after H1 revenue grew 19% to $2.2B and GMV reached $5.6B
🇸🇦 Tabby (FinTech) grew H1 fee and commission income 27% to SAR815.9M, while net profit fell 12% to SAR79.7M
🇸🇦 Rasn (InsurTech) surpassed SAR10B in market value after H1 revenue grew 111% and net profit rose 168%
🇪🇬 Venduo (FashionTech) surpassed EGP40M in B2B transactions connecting fashion brands with Egyptian manufacturers
🇸🇾 YallaGo (Mobility) surpassed 1M users across Syria while generating income for tens of thousands of families
🇱🇧 Wasleh (Logistics) launched a free platform connecting Lebanese travellers with people sending items between Lebanon and the diaspora
🇴🇲 Byanat (AI) turned its telecom AI services into a product platform for critical infrastructure, now operating from Muscat, Riyadh and Doha
🇪🇬 MNT-Halan (FinTech) used AI credit scoring to bring 500K+ first-time borrowers into Egypt’s formal financial system
🇦🇪 Spare and Tabadulat (FinTech) partnered to bring Pay-by-Bank deposits and withdrawals to UAE investment accounts
🇦🇪 Invespy (PropTech) opened a permanent Dubai Broker Hub connecting UAE real estate brokers with developers
More highlights → here
Open For Application
🇲🇦 Boost Up Lab Casablanca → Free pre-incubation program for Moroccan startups offering bootcamps, mentoring, fundraising support, and investor connections.
🇦🇪 Ignyte × ElevenLabs Voice AI Challenge → Regional challenge exploring voice AI solutions for government, banking and insurance, launching at DIFC FinTech Hive. ⏳ August 18
🇸🇦 Sabbaq Sports Hackathon → 72-hour sports tech hackathon in Medina offering SAR100K+ in prizes across six innovation tracks. ⏳ August 18–20
🇪🇬 Egypt PropTech Challenge 2026 → Competition selecting 12 PropTech and ConTech startups to pitch at Cityscape Egypt, with exhibition and ecosystem perks for winners. ⏳ September 3
🇵🇸 Nawah Pre-Accelerator → Four-month Flat6Labs program for up to 20 early-stage Palestinian tech startups, offering mentorship, workshops, and fundraising support. ⏳ September 26
More Programs and Opportunities → here
Cool Events
🇦🇪 DIFC Innovation Hub: Blockchain in Banking · Aug 17 · Dubai → digital assets in banking & hands-on blockchain workshop
🇸🇦 500 Global: Learned the Hard Way · Aug 19 · Virtual → founders share startup mistakes, assumptions & lessons learned
🌍 C3 EmpowerHer Climate Info Session · Aug 20 · Virtual → program eligibility, support & Q&A for women-centred climate ventures
🇦🇪 Sheraa: Technical Feasibility for F&B Ventures · Aug 20 · Sharjah → site selection, CAPEX, space planning & pre-lease checks for F&B founders
🇱🇧 LEBTECH 2026 · Aug 28–30 · Beirut → AI, cybersecurity, fintech, startups, investors & Startup World Cup
🇦🇪 Founder Connects: Dubai Startup Pitch & Mixer · Sep 3 · Dubai → founder-investor speed networking, startup pitches & mixer
🌍 MENA Rising NYC 2026 · Oct 14 · New York → 200 MENA founders, investors & ecosystem leaders for workshops and networking
More Events → here
Techy Bytes
Saudi Arabia ranked among the world’s top 10 countries for private AI investment, with data centre capacity reaching 467 MW in Q1 2026
UAE Government aims to move 50% of federal operations, services and tasks to agentic AI models within two years
SDAIA launched Ibram for digital signatures and document verification, with 87+ government entities already using its certification services
Oman launched an AI-powered real estate valuation system to improve pricing transparency and accuracy
Jordan launched an AI-powered water project to detect leaks, forecast demand, and reduce network losses
Syria won silver and bronze medals in its first participation in the International Olympiad in AI
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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