#89 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 are bringing you the latest round-up of startup news, updates, and opportunities in the MENA region.
Fundraising Roulette
Property Finder (UAE/PropTech) secured $250M to accelerate growth, expand market presence, and invest in product innovation across the MENA real estate ecosystem
Cercli (UAE/HRTech) raised $12M Series A to scale its AI-native HR platform, enhancing workforce management and streamlining recruitment for enterprises across the region
TachyHealth (UAE/HealthTech) raised $5M Series A to scale its AI-driven healthcare solutions, bridging the gap between providers and payers and driving efficiency across medical operations
TabSense (KSA/Fintech) raised $5M to scale its AI Agentic Point-of-Sale platform, integrating autonomous agents to help retailers optimize transactions, inventory, and customer experience
Squadio (KSA/HRTech) secured $3M pre-Series A to fuel its regional and global expansion and strengthen its platform for remote tech talent hiring
Najeeb.ai (KSA/InsurTech) raised a pre-seed round to advance its AI-powered insurance solutions, streamline medical and vehicle claim processing
KitchenomiKs (Oman/FoodTech) raised $3.2M to scale its AI-driven cloud kitchen platform, expand its satellite network across Oman and GCC
Yakeey (Morocco/PropTech) secured up to $7M to expand its real estate platform that simplifies property transactions and financing across MENA
Hypeo AI (Morocco/MarTech) secured $200K pre-seed to scale its AI-powered influencer marketing platform, automating brand-creator collaborations, campaign tracking, and payments across MENA
Anavid (Tunisia/RetailTech) raised $200K pre-seed to advance its AI-driven video analytics platform, helping retailers enhance store performance, reduce losses, and analyze customer behavior
More rounds → here
Main Headlines
PIF (KSA) invested over $1B in US-based Magic Leap to drive augmented and mixed reality innovation
Qashio (UAE) acquired Sanad Cash (KSA) to accelerate its expansion in Saudi Arabia, combining spend management technology with local expertise to power the Kingdom’s digital economy
BasharSoft (Egypt) acquired iCareer, creating Egypt’s largest integrated employment and career services group
Prosperity7 Ventures (KSA) participated in Uniphore’s $260M Series F round, joining NVIDIA, AMD, Snowflake, and Databricks
Beta Lab (KSA) backed French precision fermentation startup Nutropy in a €7M seed round, supporting its mission to produce animal-free dairy proteins
Wa’ed Ventures (KSA) led a $10M Pre-Series A for US-based Kure Cells to localize advanced cancer therapy manufacturing in the Kingdom
Mubadala Capital (UAE) backed US-based Electra Therapeutics in a $183M Series C round to advance precision immunology and cancer therapies
Uni-Ventures (KSA) announced a 225x return on its exit from Salla, marking one of the largest venture returns in Saudi Arabia
CE-Ventures (UAE) exited its stake in Transcorp, achieving a 7.6x return through a strategic sale to Elite Co
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
Hub71 (UAE) launched Hub71+ Life Sciences, a new specialist ecosystem for BioTech, MedTech, and digital health startups, and unveiled a new Venture Building Program, offering startups up to AED 750K in incentives
Misk Foundation graduated the third cohort of the Misk 500 Accelerator, featuring 16 MENA startups that completed a fully virtual 14-week program
Zain Group selected 13 startups from six MENA countries to join its Zain Great Idea Global Acceleration Program in Silicon Valley
Ma’an launched Athar+, a new hub in Abu Dhabi dedicated to accelerating social entrepreneurship
Bahrain FinTech Bay partnered with Tether, advancing digital asset education and stablecoin adoption
Saudi Tourism Development Fund graduated 17 startups from the second Tourism Growth Accelerator, showcasing innovative travel, hospitality, and tech solutions
StartUp Bahrain Pitch crowned Dona’s Wonders and You’re Nuts as winners of its 20th edition
Orange Jordan wrapped up the fourth Orange Summer Challenge, showcasing youth-led innovations in safety tech, smart cities, and accessibility
MBZUAI (UAE) unveiled Build It Demo Day, a new AI innovation showcase offering builders over $200K in tech credits
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
Shgardi (KSA) shut down after six years of operation, citing fierce competition and price wars in KSA’s delivery market
Tamara (KSA) gained a restricted finance license from the UAE Central Bank, paving the way toward a customer-centric financial super-app
Tabby (KSA) × MoneyHash (UAE) partnered to enable BNPL via a single API for merchants across KSA and UAE
Money Fellows (Egypt) surpassed $1.5B in transactions, serving 8M+ users, completing 2M+ savings circles, and achieving profitability
Bokra (Egypt) launched a Sharia-compliant savings and investment app, offering multi-asset halal options including real estate, metals, Sukuk, VC, and working-capital finance
Valu (Egypt) renewed its strategic partnership with Amazon Egypt, expanding financing options and flexible payment plans for online shoppers
SmartBricks (UAE) secured a spot in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200, becoming the first MENA PropTech startup to join the global cohort
Nsr (KSA) was recognized among the top 5 startups in the Tourism Development Fund Accelerator, standing out from 500+ ventures
Dhahaby (UAE) won the Financial Inclusion and Digital Payments Challenge by Ignyte, earning a $10K prize for its gold-backed lending platform
Whish Money (Lebanon) secured financial licenses in Canada, marking its first international approval
Bionl.ai and Syntonym (Qatar) won top honors at Qatar’s Digital Business Awards 2025
More highlights → here
Open For Application
Scale·Forward Investor Readiness Program | Jordan
A 12-month investor-readiness track for post-MVP tech startups offering 1:1 mentorship, EU–GCC–US investor matchmaking, and growth support
Jahez Investment Readiness Program | Jordan
A national program for early-stage tech startups with grants up to $10K, training, and mentorship
Emirati Accelerator Program 2025 | UAE
For Emirati-founded post-revenue startups and SMEs, offering mentorship, market access, funding pathways, and workspace in Dubai
NBB Innovation Programme 2025 | Bahrain
A three-week hybrid program offering Fintech startups mentorship, workshops, $10K prize money, and 3-month incubation
MINT x CREATIVA Tech Hackathon | Egypt
A nationwide hackathon across four cities to solve real-world challenges and turn ideas into scalable ventures
More Programs and Opportunities → here
Techy Bytes
Dubai launched a new AI Task Force and Unicorn 30 Programme, uniting 27 government entities under a shared AI adoption framework
KAUST (KSA) opened a 1,000 m² Robotics Bay, a state-of-the-art R&D hub for autonomous systems, multi-robot swarms, and marine robotics
Morocco rolled out a nationwide AI education program for children to build a digitally fluent generation through AI literacy
QSS AI & Robotics (KSA) partnered with UK-based Humanoid to deploy 10,000 humanoid robots in Saudi Arabia
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered browser that lets users chat with search results, automate online tasks, and personalize browsing
Sam Altman launched Merge Labs, a new neurotech startup developing non-invasive brain–computer interfaces that use sound waves and magnetic fields to link the human brain with computers
More tech → here
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
More Topics: AI | Gaming | Fintech | Femtech | GITEX
More regions: KSA | UAE | Egypt | Syria | Morocco
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