#38 This Week In MENA's Startup Scene🚀
Dive into the latest Startup News, Trends & Opportunities shaping the MENA region
Welcome back to your weekly journey through the MENA startup landscape! It’s been a busy week in MENA - Ecents season is officially open, VCs are ready for business and startups are making some serious moves.
Topics 3l Mashi This Week:
Fundraising Roulette
Main Headlines
Ecosystem Updates
Startups Highlights
Programs & Opportunities
Cool Events
Techy Bytes
Fundraising Roulette
Prypco (UAE/Proptech) raised $10M seed
NCircle (UAE/Deeptech) raised $530K
NOOG (UAE/Healthtech) raised $490K pre-seed
invygo (KSA/Mobility) raised $8M Series A extension
Nabt (KSA/Agritech) raised 1.5M seed
Pass (Qatar/Logistics) raised QR10M
AFS (Bahrain/Fintech) raised $50M
Arknet (Jordan/blockchain) raised $6.25M Series A
Colis.ma (Morocco/Logistics) raised $300K Pre-Seed
Edafa VC invested in four Egyptian startup
Main Headlines
Best Kept Shared (UAE) acquired BAZAARA (UAE)
Lulu Group files for IPO on Abu Dhabi Bourse
DFF launched Gig Economy & PropTech Sandboxes
Iraq granted $69bn in Investment Licences in 18 months
Mubadala raised $3.1 billion for MIC Capital Partners IV
Wa’ed Ventures allocated $100M to support AI startups
ISSF to invest $5M in Jordanian startups
Sawari Ventures to launch $200M fund in 2025
Ecosystem Updates
New measures announced to transform Digital Economy and Startup Ecosystem in UAE
Dubai launched IGNYTE to empower 100,000 startups
Winners announced at TiE Women MENA Finals 2024
TotalEnergies announced winners of the startupper of the year challenge
Berytech looking for consultants for Agrytech Accelerator
Falak Angels Deal Day concluded with five startups pitching to over 30 investors
STARTGATE wrapped up 7th batch acceleration program in Morocco
Startup Highlights
Fasila (UAE/Edtech) awarded best smart application for teaching Arabic in the world
Dubizzle (UAE) to go public for $1B in 2025
Telr (UAE/Fintech) expanded to Jordan and Bahrain
Thmanyah (KSA) launched Thmanyah subscription
Tadarab (Kuwait/Edtech) expanded to Saudi
Viridia Tech (Egypt) won Mega Green Accelerator grand prize
Open For Application
Sanabil Startup Unlocked by 500 Global | Saudi Arabia
SaudiPreneur Program | Saudi Arabia
XRPL Accelerator Launch Program | UAE
TradeTech Accelerator | UAE
InvestIT Program | Egypt
The Catalyst Accelerator Program | Egypt, Oman, UAE
Education Hackathon (Eduthon) | GCC
Action for Women’s Health Challenge —> $250M | Global
Must Attend Events This Week
VC <> StartUp Connect | 28.10 Dubai
Empowering Women in Business | 28.10 Dubai
9Yards Capital x Hub71 Fireside Chat | 28.10 Abu Dhabi
ADAM Global International Business Forum | 29.10 Abu Dhabi
Setting Up Your Business in Saudi Arabia | 29.10 Virtual
Techstars October Virtual Meet & Greet | 29.10 Virtual
FII 8th Edition 2024 | 29-31.10 Riyadh
Binance Blockchain Week | 30-31.10 Dubai
Intake Session by Startupbootcamp Accelerators | 31.10 Virtual
Pitch at the Hive | 31.10 Dubai
Fundraising for Founders | 31.10 Abu Dhabi
Grow and Go: Shaping Tomorrow's Startup | 01.11 Istanbul
Her Voice Workshop Jeddah | 01.11 Jeddah
Business Excellence with AI Workshop | 01.11 Dubai
Techy Bytes
UAE to launch AI-driven virtual lawyers
MBZUAI launched its full robotics program and Arabic AI benchmark
Dubai mosques are using drones for minaret cleaning
Abu Dhabi launched AI assistant for 800 government services
New app releases in Google Play Store down by 75%
That’s a wrap!
Thanks for joining us on this week’s journey through the MENA startup ecosystem.
Stay tuned for more opportunities, trends, and insights next week.
Until next time,