#63 This week In MENA's Startup Scene!
Dive into the latest Startup News, Trends & Opportunities shaping the MENA region
Hello and welcome back, MENA founders!
Big money. Bold moves. Breakthrough tech.
This week across MENA, startups scaled, new funds launched, AI reshaped industries, and key players made major power plays. No slowdown in sight.
Let’s dive straight into the action!
Fundraising Roulette
TruBuild (KSA/ConTech) raised $1M Seed round led by Wa’ed Ventures and Dar Ventures to de-risk construction projects via AI-powered early-risk identification and automated documentation in support of Saudi Vision 2030
Techrar (KSA/Tech) raised USD 1.6M in a seed investment round from undisclosed strategic and angel backers to accelerate development of its AI-powered customer-insights platform for retailers and banks
Hushday (UAE/E-commerce) raised AED 2M to launch the Middle East’s first premium flash-sales platform, offering curated daily deals on top-tier brands with 2–4-hour delivery in Dubai
44.01 (Oman/CleanTech) won the US$1M XFACTOR Award for its Direct Air Capture-mineralization solution—scalable DAC technology that permanently converts CO₂ into rock
ALAREEB Holding (KSA) acquired an 80% stake in Two Sides Productions to expand its audiovisual content-production capabilities, support Saudi Vision 2030’s media-sector growth, and deliver high-quality regional content aligned with global trends
Derayah Financial (KSA) **led** the Series C investment in Alpaca (USA/FinTech), backing its $52 M round to extend the API-brokerage platform across the Middle East, Europe and Asia
Mubadala (UAE) invested an undisclosed pre-IPO sum in Ather Energy (India/EV) to scale production of its electric scooters and accelerate its rollout ahead of the public listing
Main Headlines
iMENA secured USD 135M Pre-IPO investment from regional sovereign wealth and institutional investors to scale its digital services portfolio and prepare for a public listing
ISSF (Jordan) invested USD 3M in the Antler MENAP Fund to back early-stage founders across MENA, expanding its mandate to catalyze high-growth startups and SMEs
UGFS-VC (Egypt) announced the first close of its $17 M Series A Tech Fund, anchored by Anava Ventures, targeting fintech, healthtech, and climate-tech ventures in North Africa and the Gulf
Mubadala & Fortress formed a $1B private-credit partnership to provide flexible financing to mid-market companies in frontier markets, targeting energy transition, healthcare and technology sectors
Lebanon’s Ministry of Digital Economy unveiled a $50 M digital transformation & AI strategy to establish Lebanon as a regional AI hub, funding smart-government projects, AI startup grants, cloud-infrastructure expansion, and talent development programs.
Maza Ventures (UAE/VC) launched by Tambi Jalouqa, a UAE-based angel investor, to back global software and deep-tech startups founded by MENA entrepreneurs, with an inaugural $30M fund focusing on AI, robotics, and cybersecurity startups
Dubai Investments plans an IPO before year-end, aiming to raise up to AED 2B to fund its real estate, healthcare, and education services expansions across the Gulf
Savvy Automotive (UAE) in talks to acquire BluSmart UAE to integrate ride-hailing, EV leasing, and charging infrastructure services under one platform and accelerate its push into sustainable urban transport
Ecosystem Updates
Hub71 (UAE) recorded USD 2.17B in startup funding in Q1 ’25, helping Abu Dhabi crack the global top 10 tech-hub ranking, attract 120 new startups and create 1,000+ jobs
Expo City Dubai hosted the region’s first FemTech Hackathon, bringing together 200+ innovators, healthcare experts, and investors to develop women’s health solutions in maternal care, fertility, menopause, and mobile diagnostics
TiE Women MENA launched its 6th annual accelerator, selecting 50 high-potential women founders for a 12-week bootcamp, mentorship with C-suite executives, and follow-on funding access to drive scale
Antler Dubai selected 96 founders (39 nationalities) for its 2nd residency program, providing $100K each, co-working space, expert coaching, and investor demos to kickstart 25 new startups in AI, fintech, healthtec,h and climate tech
SEE Institute (UAE) launched the Global Sustainability Summit, unveiled a Professional Diploma in Sustainability and a Content-Creator Academy to train 1,000+ professionals in ESG, green finance and climate communications
Jaree launched its platform in Saudi Arabia to democratize VC access, offering retail investors co-investment opportunities alongside leading VCs, real-time portfolio tracking, and tokenized fund shares
LLWB & Berytech signed an MoU to co-develop training, mentorship, and funding programs for women entrepreneurs, targeting 500 startups over three years and fostering gender-balanced growth in Lebanon’s innovation ecosystem
Invest-IT Program debuted its first cohort, 15 Egyptian tech startups in Fintech, Agritech, Healthtech, and Edtech, showcasing MVPs, receiving mentorship, and pitching for follow-on funding to AUC’s Venture Lab and regional VCs
Omantel Innovation Labs unveiled seven startups in IoT, AI, fintech, and digital health for its 5th accelerator cohort, offering OMR 50K grants each, technical support, market-entry guidance, and pilot partnerships with Omantel
SPARK & Google.org launched the Maharat for Tourism e-learning hub in the UAE to upskill 10,000 hospitality professionals in digital marketing, sustainable operations, and customer-experience best practices
Startups Highlights
EarEase (Oman) developed an AI-powered wearable device that translates speech-to-text and sign-to-voice in real time—bridging communication for deaf and mute users in noisy environments
Fuze (UAE) secured its UAE Payment Services License to roll out its next-gen digital-payments infrastructure, featuring instant settlements, cross-border FX and embedded-finance APIs for Fintechs and enterprises
Huspy (UAE) launched the GCC’s first AI-driven mortgage advice chatbot, offering 24/7 personalized home loan guidance, rate comparisons, and instant pre-approval within its Dubai-license platform
Brite (Egypt) launched an AI-powered HR platform for MENA SMEs, automating recruitment, performance reviews and payroll compliance with Arabic-language support and predictive attrition analytics.
PayLater (Qatar) ranked #1 in finance and top 3 overall in Qatar within one month of launch, driven by its instant credit product, seamless UX, and partnerships with leading Qatari merchants
Prop-AI (UAE) awarded the Dubai AI Seal by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed for its AI-driven property-valuation and predictive-analytics platform that’s transforming real-estate decision-making
Homzmart (Egypt) launched Lifters, a logistics platform for large and bulky shipments, extending its home-furnishing marketplace with in-house delivery, installation, and white-glove services
Calo (Bahrain) expanded into the UK, marking its first move beyond the GCC to offer BNPL, digital wallet, and merchant-credit solutions to British consumers and retailers
Open For Application
Orange Corners | South Sudan
A six-month accelerator offering co-working space, business-model coaching, seed grants, and investor access for early-stage South Sudanese entrepreneurs
Algeria Startup Challenge | Algeria
Join as a trainer to mentor high-potential Algerian startups through a 12-week bootcamp, pitch days, and investor networking
Virtual AI Agent Mentorship & Compute Program | Global
A 10-week remote program providing AI-agent design workshops, mentor hours with LLM experts, and free GPU credits to build production-ready agents
Inspire Accelerator | Bahrain
stc Bahrain and the Inspire Business Accelerator are accepting applications for the 2025 cohort—offering $50K seed funding, mentorship, demo-day access, and regional expansion support
OST Program | Pan-Africa
Call for early-stage African startups & talent—receive mentorship, networking, pitch opportunities, and seed-grant support from the Open Startup International network
Maharat Program | UAE
Free digital-skills academy by SPARK—access courses in tech, entrepreneurship, soft skills, and job readiness; designed to upskill 100K+ Emiratis and residents for the digital economy
Nonprofit Impact & Adaptation Accelerator 2025 | Global
Six-week online accelerator equipping nonprofit leadership teams with resilience tools, sustainable-funding strategies, and wellbeing frameworks; includes expert mentorship and peer communitment
Techy Bytes
du announced a $544 M hyperscale data-center partnership with Microsoft to build a new UAE cloud region, boosting capacity for AI, IoT, and enterprise workloads
RTA Dubai launched its AI Strategy 2030, unveiling 81 AI-driven projects across smart mobility, traffic management, digital permits, and customer-experience enhancements to transform Dubai’s transport network
Abu Dhabi & Microsoft partnered on a Population Health Intelligence platform, combining ADNOC’s health data lake with Azure AI to predict disease outbreaks, optimize resource allocation, and personalize citizen healthcare
Dubai AI Office certified 325 companies with the Dubai AI Seal, recognizing organizations that meet its AI governance, ethics, and innovation standards to drive responsible AI adoption across sectors
Dubai Media Academy introduced the Artificial Intelligence Initiative in Arab Media, a training series and R&D lab equipping 200+ journalists and producers with AI tools for content creation, fact-checking, and audience analytics
ALiF Framework debuted UAE’s first national AI-literacy framework, setting K–12 and adult-learning standards for AI understanding, ethics, and hands-on skills rolled out via schools, universities, and public workshops
Saudi Arabia ranked 15th globally in AI research papers, according to the Global AI Competitiveness Index, underscoring the kingdom’s growing academic output in machine learning, robotics and data science
Arabic.AI launched MENA’s first B2B agentic AI platform, enabling enterprises to build custom autonomous agents for customer support, sales automation, and data analysis in Arabic dialects and MS
Egypt & Microsoft announced a joint program to train 100,000 government employees, students, and developers in AI skills, covering Azure AI services, machine learning, ethics, and responsible AI—to build local capacity and support Egypt’s AI strategy
Oman’s Public Authority for Audio & Visual Media launched “Ayn for Children”, the first dedicated media platform offering age-appropriate Arabic cartoons, educational shows, and interactive storytelling for kids
Central Bank of Iraq launched its first virtual bank pilot, a fully digital banking arm with wallet accounts, instant payments, micro-lending, and API access for Fintechs to extend financial inclusion and modernize Iraq’s payment ecosystem
Jordan’s Ministry of Digital Economy surpassed 1.6 M digital identities via the Sanad app, integrating e-ID, digital signatures, and government services in one platform as part of its push for full national digitalization
Iraq’s Ministry of Interior launched the Eye of Iraq 2025 app, consolidating traffic, civil status, emergency response and public safety services into one AI-driven mobile platform, enabling real-time alerts, digital permits, and incident reporting
PayPal expanded into MENA & Africa with a new Dubai hub, serving 80 countries, offering localized merchant onboarding, risk management, and instant cross-border payouts in 15 currencies
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.
The Startup on the GO (ستارتب على الماشي)! Team