#67 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.
What a week. Startups are raising, expanding, and hiring. Governments are launching new funds. Investors are back in the game. It’s been a busy few days and packed with moves you’ll want to catch.
Here’s everything you need to know
Fundraising Roulette
Tarjama (UAE) raised $15M in a Series A round with participation from Wamda Capital. The funding will support the company’s expansion of its AI-driven language services across the MENA region
VUZ (UAE/Immersive Media) secured $12M in funding from the International Finance Corporation to accelerate its global expansion
Tradoor (UAE/Marketplace) secured $3.2M with participation from VentureSouq to grow its online wholesale platform
Gainz (UAE/HealthTech) raised a seven-figure pre-seed round to scale its fitness and wellness platform for users across the GCC
BirdEye (KSA/AI) raised SAR 2.2M in a pre-seed round to further develop its AI-driven customer experience platform
SARsatX (KSA/SpaceTech) raised a $2.6M Seed round to scale its satellite technology and data services
Ziadah (KSA/E-commerce) closed a Seed round to expand its personalized online shopping platform
PayLater (Qatar/FinTech) raised funding from LuLu Investments to scale its BNPL and embedded finance services
Circle (Kuwait/Q-Commerce) raised a $6M Series A round to scale its rapid delivery and commerce services
Valu (Egypt/Fintech) secured $27M in new funding as it prepares for an upcoming IPO
Sylndr (Egypt/AutoTech) raised $15.7M in fresh funding to strengthen its used car platform and simplify Egypt’s secondhand car market with a full-stack digital approach
ElGameya (Egypt/Fintech) secured fresh capital to expand its inclusive savings and rotating credit tools
RIIG (Tunisia) **secured** an investment round and rebranded as HOOTL
Fatura (Egypt) was acquired by MaxAB-Wasoko, combining two leading B2B e-commerce platforms to strengthen distribution, supply chain digitization, and embedded finance across Egypt
Aramco Ventures invested in Arkestro (USA) to accelerate the adoption of predictive procurement technologies across global supply chains
Alchemist Doha invested in Werover (Turkey) to support the global scale-up of its AI-powered blade monitoring system for wind turbines
Aramco Ventures and stc Ventures led an investment in Graphiant (USA) to scale its Network-as-a-Service technology
Main Headlines
Invest Qatar launched a $1B incentive program to attract foreign and local investment across strategic sectors
Emirates Development Bank launched an AED 1B Emirates Growth Fund to back high-potential SMEs in UAE within manufacturing, healthcare, food security, and clean energy
NESDA (Algeria) rolled out three new funding schemes, offering up to $75,000 to early-stage startups
SIDF and Lendo launched a SAR 200M investment program to support industrial SMEs in Saudi Arabia
Catalyst Partners Middle East is finalizing its first two acquisitions in the MENA region
SC Ventures and DIFC Innovation Hub launched UAE’s National Venture Studio, a platform designed to build and co-create fintech and digital ventures
Riyadh Valley Company announced an investment in MEVP Fund IV to back early-stage and growth-stage technology companies across MENA
EQIQ (UAE) doubled its fund size to $30M to accelerate digital transformation in Iraq with a focus on investing in fintech, logistics, and SaaS startups
Ecosystem Updates
Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in the growth of its tech startup ecosystem
CIB Egypt partnered with Lantern Ventures to support the growth of Egyptian SMEs with access to tailored financial products, mentoring, and capacity-building
Saudi Arabia released its 2024 Annual Report on Entrepreneurship Support Programs to highlight the progress and impact of over 150 national initiatives
UAE launched the Startup Global Exchange Program to drive cross-border innovation and support UAE-based startups in expanding globally while attracting international ventures to scale in the Emirates
Egypt opened a new National Tech Hub focused on commercializing local inventions and transforming R&D outputs into market-ready products
EDGE Group (UAE) launched a new AI Accelerator to enhance its capabilities in defense and advanced technologies
UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology launched the Make it in the Emirates Accelerator to support industrial entrepreneurship
G42 and World Wide Technology launched the Forge42 AI Accelerator to develop industry-grade AI solutions in energy, healthcare, and logistics in UAE
ITIDA (Egypt) launched the 47th round of its Start IT Incubation Program, introducing new incentives to support early-stage tech founders
Banque Misr Foundation signed an agreement with Nile University to train 1,200 young men and women for careers in entrepreneurship and the freelance economy
Cairo University hosted the International Conference on Entrepreneurship and Investment Opportunities in Africa
Startups Highlights
Partment (Egypt) launched Partment Stays, a new product that transforms underutilized homes into short-term rental units to monetize vacant spaces while meeting growing demand for flexible stays in urban areas
CARITech (Egypt) partnered with Finastra to support core banking modernization in MENA and enable financial institutions to deploy scalable, cloud-native infrastructure that improves digital banking services across the region
Mozn (KSA) launched a new agentic AI platform to prevent financial crime by offering proactive, AI-driven threat detection capabilities that enhance regulatory compliance and fraud prevention
Swvl (Egypt) launched a new Luxury Travel vertical targeting premium intercity and corporate transport
Saudi Arabia’s Ibtikar Award qualified six startups to represent the Kingdom at the Entrepreneurship World Cup
Three Tunisian startups shortlisted for the Qualcomm Make in Africa 2025 program
17 Bahraini startups selected to expand into Saudi Arabia through Tamkeen’s Overseas Expansion Program
Techy Bytes
UAE launched Falcon Arabic, a new AI model tailored for Arabic language understanding and generation. Developed to enhance regional AI capabilities
MBZUAI (UAE) has opened a new AI research lab in Silicon Valley to enable deeper collaboration between UAE-based researchers and leading AI institutions in the U.S
UAE announced plans to integrate AI into its national media strategy
Mashreq Bank launched an API Marketplace to accelerate open banking adoption in UAE
MGX (UAE) partnered with Bpifrance, Mistral AI, and NVIDIA to build Europe’s largest AI Campus in France
IHC (UAE) unveiled plans to launch SAIF, an Emirati AI-powered marketplace agent designed to streamline commerce and customer service
Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry launched two AI-powered virtual assistants, Smart Assistant, and Saif, to support business users and investors
Invest Qatar partnered with Tencent’s Level Infinite to strengthen Qatar’s gaming sector by attracting international gaming studios, nurturing local talent, and positioning Qatar as a regional hub for game development and esports
Nindohost (Morocco) expanded into 13 African countries, accelerating access to local web hosting and cloud services
Tencent Cloud (China) launched a new cloud region in Saudi Arabia with an investment of $150M
Google updated its Gemini app with new capabilities including real-time AI video generation and Deep Research mode
OpenAI acquired LoveFrom and announced the launch of io, a new AI device, and platform blending software and hardware
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