#93 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
Noon secured $500M backed by PIF to strengthen its regional platform, scale logistics, and advance plans for a potential IPO
Premialab (UAE/Analytics) secured $220M in growth funding led by KKR to accelerate global expansion
Planys Technologies (UAE/Robotics) secured $12M to expand its underwater robotics and AI-powered inspection solutions across the Middle East
VOLZ (Algeria/TravelTech) closed a record 600M DZD, approximately $5M, to expand across Africa
iVoiceUp (Egypt/AI/SaaS) secured funding from A15 to scale its AI-powered compliance and whistleblowing platform across MENA
Relik (UAE/AI) secured seed funding from regional investors, including KBW Ventures, to scale its AI-driven authentication platform
Orion (KSA/FinTech) closed a pre-seed round to accelerate its AI-driven algorithmic trading platform
Nawah Scientific (Egypt/DeepTech L) raised $23M to expand its scientific research infrastructure across Egypt, KSA, and Africa
Falak Angels Network (KSA) invested in Ballurh to support the scale-up of its AI-powered restaurant SaaS platform
QPioneers (KSA/AI/SaaS) secured its first funding round from Q Fund to build an AI-powered operating system for startups
Croptimus (Egypt/AgriTech) secured an investment from VentureX to scale its regenerative agriculture platform
Rasmal Ventures (Qatar) led a $12M Series A investment in Roamless to back the scale-up of its borderless eSIM infrastructure
More rounds → here
Main Headlines
MGX (UAE) joined Oracle and Silver Lake in a landmark deal to acquire TikTok’s US operations
Moroccan Government launched a 1.3B dirham strategy to support 3,000 startups by 2030 through venture building, VC funding, and Technopark expansion
MSMEDA and Reefy partnered on a $6.3M financing program to support 3,000 micro enterprises across Egypt
Tunisian Government launched the €5M Watani initiative to support early-stage startups, strengthen regional ecosystems, and mobilise diaspora talent
Two Point Zero Group (UAE) acquired full ownership of Maseera to accelerate product integration across its consumer fintech ecosystem
Miral launched the Miral Impact Fund in partnership with Ma’an to drive measurable social and environmental impact in UAE
Global Alliance committed $120M through a UAE-based feeder fund to back startups in India’s Kerala ecosystem
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
ITHCA Group launched a cross-border accelerator and venture investment partnership to help Omani startups enter the Saudi market, offering up to $100K per startup
UAE Government issued the country’s first license for online gaming and sports wagering through the GCGRA
Palestine joined the €1M EU-backed YIELD project to support youth-led deep tech startups in the blue, green, and circular economy
Khalifa Fund and Hub71 partnered to launch the MZN Hub71 Programme in Al Ain, supporting 10 to 15 Emirati-founded startups
Qatar FinTech Hub unveiled a new funding and Lab Model at its 7th Demo Day, introducing grants of up to QAR 1.5M, increased early-stage investments, and a hands-on pathway to regulatory sandbox
Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund unveiled its 10th cohort of AI-driven startups spanning legal tech, healthcare, consumer platforms, and media
Jusoor and Startup Syria launched the LAUNCHPAD investment readiness residency to prepare early-stage Syrian startups for regional funding
Saudi Ministry of Interior and Tuwaiq Academy concluded the world’s largest hackathon with a SAR 1M prize pool
United Entrepreneurs of Algeria launched BusinessMatchAI, an AI-powered platform designed to connect founders, investors, and experts
Orange Corners Palestine graduated its eighth pre-acceleration cohort of 12 startups through Flow Accelerator
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
Breadfast (Egypt) eyes up to $13M in potential IFC investment to accelerate nationwide expansion
Qashio (UAE) launched its European headquarters in Dublin to drive international expansion
Nero (KSA) was honored by the Saudi Minister of Transport for its autonomous last-mile delivery technology
AmalXR, Ecobees, and Pixii Motors (Tunisia ) advanced to the finals of Qualcomm’s Made in Africa program
valU (Egypt) secured EGP 1.1B through its 20th securitised bond issuance under a new EGP 10B program to support portfolio growth
EnviBrick (Oman) unveiled engineered bricks designed to cut building energy consumption
MoneyHash (UAE) partnered with Mastercard to streamline merchant payments across MENA through a single API
Property Finder (UAE) introduced an AI-powered home valuation tool with six-month price forecasts
MNZL (Egypt) became the first fintech in Egypt to obtain dual digital lending licences, enabling fully online mortgage and consumer finance
PRYPCO (UAE) secured Sharia certification for its fractional ownership platforms
More highlights → here
Open For Application
Presight Global AI Accelerator | Abu Dhabi
A six-month global accelerator for market-ready AI startups, providing enterprise access, advanced AI infrastructure, mentorship from global experts, and potential strategic investment opportunities
Google for Startups Accelerator 2026 | MENA
A ten-week equity-free accelerator for Seed and Series A startups offering Google mentorship, AI and cloud product access, technical support, and global network exposure to scale high-growth ventures
Propeller Kernel Camp | San Francisco
An 8-week deep tech residency for MENA-based technical founders in AI and deep software, offering sponsored housing, stipends, mentorship, and direct exposure to Silicon Valley’s startup and VC ecosystem
Utopia Studio Co Build Fellowship | Doha
A co-founding venture builder program for domain experts to launch AI native companies with up to $1M in staged funding, technical co-founders, founder stipends, and Qatar-based setup support
AUC Venture Lab Cycle 26 Accelerator | Cairo
A three-month equity-free accelerator for early-stage Egyptian startups, offering investment readiness support, expert mentorship, and access to AUC’s founder and investor network
FinTech Development Grant | Qatar
A milestone-linked grant program by QDB and Qatar FinTech Hub, supporting Qatar-based FinTech startups with regulatory guidance, product development support, and co-funding to accelerate market deployment
Techy Bytes
Qatar Investment Authority and Qai launched a national AI initiative backed by $526B in sovereign capital and a $20B JV with Brookfield to build a large-scale AI data center capacity
UAE Government established the National Media Authority to centralise media regulation, unify national messaging, and extend oversight across digital platforms
stc and Humain launched a joint venture to build next-generation data centres with up to 1 gigawatt capacity in Saudi Arabia
G42 (UAE) unveiled the NANDA 87B open model to serve India’s AI ecosystem, advancing large-scale bilingual language AI
PureHealth (UAE) unveiled an AI-powered national reference laboratory capable of processing over 30 million tests annually
MBZUAI and AWS forged a multi-year alliance to accelerate AI research, cloud skills, and startup incubation
Libyan Ministry of Youth launched the country’s first AI Youth Club to equip young talent with skills in AI, programming, and robotics
Coursera and Udemy agreed to merge in a $2.5B all-stock deal, creating a global edtech powerhouse
Amazon entered talks to invest up to $10B in OpenAI, potentially valuing the company above $500B
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 | BIBAN
More regions: KSA | UAE | Egypt | Syria | Morocco
Connect with us: Website | LinkedIn | Share your story