#75 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've got another packed digest for you, covering all the key funding deals, ecosystem news, and tech headlines from across MENA this week
Here’s what you need to know..
Fundraising Roulette
Lucidya (KSA/AI) secured a $30M Series B to enhance its customer intelligence platform, marking a record-breaking AI funding round in MENA and strengthening its regional and global expansion
Yasmina (KSA/InsurTech) closed a $2M seed round to expand its digital insurance platform, targeting underserved consumers in KSA with personalized coverage and frictionless claims processing
WaHa (UAE/Cleantech) raised $8M to scale its atmospheric water generation tech across the GCC, enabling sustainable water access in arid regions through renewable-powered innovations
Wittify.ai (UAE/AI) secured a $1.5M pre-seed round to advance Arabic conversational AI, supporting regional enterprises with localized language models and intelligent automation tools
PALM (UAE/Socialtech) closed a 7-figure pre-seed round with backing from 4DX and Plus VC to scale its community-first platform, empowering digital creators and lifestyle brands across MENA
Ovasave (UAE/Femtech) secured $1.2M to expand in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, advancing reproductive health solutions and personalized care for women in the region
ORA Technologies (Tunisia/SuperApp) closed a $7.5M Series A, marking a national record to fuel the development of its mobile-first digital ecosystem offering payments, mobility, and local services
Jusoor Labs (Palestine/EdTech) received an angel investment from Peleset Angels Inc. to grow its education technology platform and support Palestinian youth through innovation and digital learnin
Braya Medical Care (KSA/HealthTech) closed a Series B round to expand its integrated healthcare services and strengthen its presence across Saudi’s digital health landscape
Main Headlines
Mubadala-linked consortium agreed to acquire Germany’s Techem for nearly $8B, marking one of the UAE’s largest European investments to date
Aria Ventures (Egypt) launched a new EGP 50M fund to back deep-tech startups across AI, robotics, and advanced sciences
IHC (UAE) acquired eFunder, a digital SME lending platform, and rebranded it as Zelo
Sukna Capital unveiled MENA’s first open-ended, Sharia-compliant direct financing fund
Saudi Arabia signed $8B worth of renewable energy deals opening doors for local and international startups in solar, wind, and hydrogen
Blue Five Capital (MENA) fully acquired UAE’s Wusoom Holding
Bahraini and US companies signed $17B in joint investment agreements in infrastructure, clean energy, and tech
UAE approved a $245B federal budget prioritizing AI, education,, and healthcare
Egypt’s MSMEDA deployed $45M in funding to support MSMEs in Alexandria
Mira Developments (UAE) invested $3M to launch Percent&Co, a new platform targeting global investors in MENA real estate
PIF launched TASAMA, a new company aimed at growing the Kingdom’s business services sector
UM6P, UNESCO, and OCP Group launched a $6M development initiative to drive innovation, research, and entrepreneurship across Africa
Uber committed to a $300M investment in Saudi-backed Lucid Motors
Ecosystem Updates
Investcorp (Bahrain) partnered with the American University of Bahrain to launch an innovation lab
MSMEDA (Egypt) signed a $1.6M financing agreement with Tadbiir to expand SME lending and support underserved entrepreneurs
Alinma Bank and Falak Investment Hub (KSA) launched AmadTech, a new fintech accelerator to back Saudi startups
Orange Corners Palestine celebrated the graduation of Cycle 7 of Palestinian startups
Endeavor Jordan announced a new Chairman and Vice Chairs
MENA Fintech Association launched its Iraq Chapter
EG Bank’s MINT Incubator welcomed 18 new startups into its latest cohort
Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund kicked off its 10th Innovation Accelerator cohort in UAE
Arab National Bank (KSA) launched a new fintech accelerator program to support early-stage startups across the Kingdom
University of Jeddah launched its Entrepreneurship Bootcamp in partnership with Monsha’at
Saudi Arabia’s Reef Program graduated its first 20 agritourism startups
KSA launched the University Entrepreneurs Competition, inviting student founders across the Kingdom to participate
Al-Ayyam (Syria) introduced a new interest-free loan program to support small business founders and early-stage startups
Saudi Arabia launched a new incubator for energy entrepreneurs in clean tech, renewables, and smart energy solutions
Saudi Arabia’s National IT Development Program launched a PropTech Accelerator with 10 participating startups in the real estate sector
Abu Dhabi Chamber launched the Al Ain Initiative to empower small businesses and entrepreneurs
Enactus Morocco launched the Sustainable Innovation Fest 2025 to showcase impactful solutions across climate, agriculture, and social innovation
BIBF (Bahrain) opened registration for a financial training program for Bahraini entrepreneurs
Dubai Chambers launched the Dubai Hub London to provide a soft landing platform for UK-based companies expanding into UAE
Startups Highlights
Tactful AI (Egypt) reentered a new growth phase in MENA and Europe after its founders reacquired the company
Talabat (UAE) relaunched its rider vending machine initiative for a second year, offering hydration, snacks, and essentials to improve delivery worker wellbeing
EazyPay and Tamara (Bahrain/KSA) formed a strategic partnership to deliver seamless checkout and BNPL solutions across GCC
PayLater (Qatar) and BeIN partnered to offer flexible BNPL services across the Qatari market
MyMonty (Lebanon) partnered with Mastercard to boost digital payments adoption
Jumia Egypt and Intella introduced a voice-activated ordering experience in Egyptian Arabic via Ziila
Egypt’s FRA granted licenses to Saqr, Nawwy, Qardy, NBE, QNB, and Erada
EazyPay and Beyon Money (Bahrain) launched an integrated POS solution for merchants,
1001 and Almentor (Iraq) teamed up to launch Arabic-language educational content for Iraqi audiences
Telr and Peko (UAE) launched Telr Incepta, a new venture simplifying business setup for startups in UAE
Open For Application
Global AI Challenge Initiatives | KSA/Global
Shark Tank Lebanon | Lebanon
NilePreneurs Initiative by QNB | Egypt
Access Sharjah Challenge 2025 | UAE/Global
Orange Corners Egypt | Egypt
Startupbootcamp Accelerator | Global/MENA
Techy Bytes
Saudi Arabia launched the Esports World Cup with a record £51.5M prize pool
Dubai launched a new classification framework for AI-generated content
Abu Dhabi deployed Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Masdar City
Qatar launched the region’s first satellite internet service
SDAIA (KSA) invited one million Saudis to join its AI learning initiative
Abu Dhabi enhanced its Mawaqif parking system with AI capabilities
Uber introduced the Women Drivers feature, enabling female riders to match exclusively with female drivers in Saudi Arabia
Ubtech (China) unveiled a humanoid robot capable of autonomously swapping its batteries
Russia announced plans to launch a central bank digital currency by 2026
HP launched a business enablement suite designed for small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia
TikTok and Visa partnered to support UAE-based SMBs with digital ad credits
Binance entered the Islamic finance space with a new Sharia-compliant crypto staking service
OpenAI committed $50M to nonprofit and community initiatives
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