#77 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.
So let’s get started!
Fundraising Roulette
Calo (KSA/Foodtech) raised an additional $39M, bringing its Series B total to $64M, as it accelerates global growth and scales its personalized meal subscription platform beyond MENA
Foodics (KSA/F&B Tech) received a strategic investment from Kamco Invest, bolstering its expansion in cloud-based restaurant management solutions and the broader regional F&B tech ecosystem
Sawt (KSA/AI) secured $1M in funding to expand its Arabic-first voice AI platform, aiming to transform customer service with locally trained conversational AI across the GCC
Flex League (KSA/SportsTech) raised a six-figure seed round to grow its community-driven football league platform, offering digital tools and tournaments that engage amateur players across the Kingdom
Olivery (Palestine/Logistics) raised seed funding from Ibtikar Fund and Flat6Labs, supporting its mission to digitize last-mile delivery across the Palestinian market with optimized logistics solutions
Metaa (Libya/E-commerce) closed a seed round from Nama Ventures to scale its digital marketplace, helping Libyan merchants reach consumers through streamlined e-commerce infrastructure
CE-Ventures (UAE) invested in Plaid and Mesh, participating in rounds totaling over $650M and reinforcing the UAE’s role in shaping the future of global fintech infrastructure
Qatar Investment Authority invested in US-based biotech firm Artbio, joining a $132M round to advance next-gen cancer therapies
Main Headlines
Vennre (UAE) launched its venture capital arm after surpassing $25M in revenue
PIF (KSA) named the world’s most valuable sovereign wealth fund brand
MGX (UAE) and QIA (Qatar) are in advanced talks to back Anthropic
Surj Sports (KSA) invested $40M in the Professional Triathletes Organisation to lead global sports innovation
UAE introduced a mandatory advertiser permit for all influencers and brands
Mubadala (UAE) invested in Anaconda, a leading platform in open-source AI development and enterprise intelligence tools
Trump proposed steep tariffs on six Arab countries, including Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Jordan, disrupting trade flows and escalating tensions with key MENA economies
Oman launched a major financial stimulus to accelerate SME growth, offering new funding channels and support tools for early-stage ventures across sectors
Saudi Arabia launched the SAR 40M second phase of its Art Bank Initiative, providing funding and infrastructure to empower creative entrepreneurs and expand the Kingdom’s cultural and creative industries
Ecosystem Updates
Syria launched a new angel network backed by a $10M fund, aiming to support local founders with early-stage capital and strategic mentorship to rebuild the country's innovation pipeline
Ghiras Accelerator (KSA) launched with five green startups, aiming to address environmental challenges across Saudi Arabia through innovation in waste, water, and sustainability solutions
Women in Tech Accelerator selected ten new startups for its sixth cohort in Bahrain
Future Pioneers Program kicked off to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs across Oman
Startup Syria unveiled its first-ever startup ecosystem map, identifying major gaps and offering a strategic path forward to support local entrepreneurs and rebuild the economy in Syria
finnpact and Virtual Accelerate partnered to deliver the Orange Corners Program in Jordan
Orange Jordan and GIZ launched a joint program to boost startup financial literacy, helping founders make informed decisions on budgeting, fundraising, and sustainability
Suez Canal University hosted its first entrepreneurship forum, celebrating winning student startups and fostering a culture of innovation across Egyptian higher education
More Resilient Future Project concluded in Jordan after empowering 141 startups, delivering capacity-building programs, mentorship, and ecosystem linkages for entrepreneurs in underserved communities
KAUST welcomed 10 global startups to its ScaleX program in Saudi Arabia
Palestine launched the Green Scale Lab, a new initiative to equip young founders with sustainability and green business skills, supporting climate-focused entrepreneurship and eco-innovation
UNDP launched an entrepreneurship training initiative targeting 1,000 youth in ****Libya
IFZA launched the Scale360 Accelerator in UAE in partnership with Plug and Play, targeting late-stage startups with tailored growth support, investor access, and global expansion opportunities through the Dubai innovation ecosystem
Startups Highlights
Anghami (UAE) announced a reverse stock split plan to meet Nasdaq compliance and avoid delisting, as the music streaming platform aims to stabilize its public market position
The Middle Frame (UAE) opened free early access to its Arab-centric AI image generator, enabling creators to generate culturally relevant visuals tailored to regional aesthetics and narratives
Lean Technologies (KSA) secured a landmark open finance license from Dubai’s DIFC, becoming the first Saudi firm authorized to operate in the UAE under new regulations promoting open banking innovation
Tabadulat (UAE) secured regulatory approval to digitize cheque payments, modernizing a legacy financial process and advancing the UAE’s cashless transformation agenda
Madari Space (UAE) announced plans to launch an orbital data centre pilot by 2026
Jeel (KSA) partnered with UAE-based zypl.ai to deliver AI-driven lending tools, enabling faster, data-powered credit decisions and personalized financial services across Saudi’s fintech landscape
Rawi (Qatar) entered the Saudi market following its graduation from the MBC accelerator, expanding its Arabic audiobook offering and tapping into a growing demand for digital cultural content
Nafath (Oman) launched a nationwide initiative to train 5,000 drone pilots, strengthening Oman’s drone ecosystem and preparing talent for use cases in logistics, surveying, and smart infrastructure
EazyPay (Bahrain) launched the Mastercard Receivables Manager to digitize SME invoicing, streamlining receivables and improving cash flow management for small businesses in the Kingdom
Space42 (UAE) partnered with major tech firms to advance geospatial AI across Africa, supporting sustainable development, environmental monitoring, and infrastructure planning on the continent
PayLater (Qatar) teamed up with Qatar Islamic Bank to launch a Shari’a-compliant BNPL service, expanding ethical digital finance offerings for Qatari consumers and businesses
Freeziana.com (Egypt) partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Social Development Bank to empower local artisans by supporting access to digital marketplaces and promoting cultural entrepreneurship across the region
CONNECTYA (Algeria) introduced WeshDZ, a new social media platform backed by ASF, designed to serve Arabic-speaking communities and promote locally driven digital engagement across North Africa
dodocs.ai (UAE) launched a revamped AI-powered portal, streamlining accounting and document workflows for businesses through enhanced automation and financial data processing tools
Techy Bytes
Morocco announced a $8B national 5G rollout, aiming to expand digital connectivity, drive economic competitiveness, and support next-gen tech applications across industries
Tunisian students developed an award-winning solar car tailored for people with special needs, showcasing inclusive innovation in sustainable mobility and student-led engineering
Presight AI (UAE) signed a strategic agreement with Abu Dhabi Police to integrate advanced analytics and AI into public safety operations, enhancing decision-making and situational awareness
Digital Dubai introduced the AI Family, a suite of intelligent digital personas designed to facilitate seamless access to government services and foster public engagement with AI-powered platforms
TII (UAE) launched a new open-source Arabic STEM benchmark, advancing AI capabilities for scientific research and education in Arabic through a standardized dataset for model evaluation
Bahrain unveiled a national AI strategy focused on economic development, job creation, and sectoral innovation
OmniOps (KSA) launched the first AI Inference-as-a-Service platform in the Kingdom, enabling startups and enterprises to access scalable AI compute infrastructure for real-time model deployment and experimentation
INJAZ UAE and FedEx equipped over 1,000 students with practical skills for the future workforce through entrepreneurship and career-readiness programs
e& UAE launched a dedicated AI graduate program to nurture Emirati tech talent, combining academic training with hands-on experience in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies
Iraq established new specialized colleges for AI and cybersecurity, aiming to build a robust talent pipeline and support digital transformation across public and private sectors
Algeria powered up a high-performance data centre as part of its national AI strategy, boosting infrastructure to support research, analytics, and sovereign digital capabilities
University of Aleppo (Syria) introduced Tebyan, the first clinically deployed AI system in Syria, developed to assist in medical diagnostics and operational workflows within the country’s healthcare institutions
Yasmina AI launched in Oman with localized, human-like capabilities, offering users a culturally attuned virtual assistant experience in Arabic, built for the region’s linguistic and contextual nuances
OpenAI introduced a new Study Mode in ChatGPT, offering students personalized learning tools and tailored educational support through interactive, AI-powered study sessions
Google unveiled Gemini Deep Think, an AI model designed to explore multiple solution paths simultaneously, enhancing multi-step reasoning and enabling more efficient problem-solving for complex tasks
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
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