#97 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 $170M led by Mubadala to accelerate regional expansion, deepen data and AI capabilities, and strengthen its position
Kitopi (UAE/FoodTech) raised $50M strategic debt to fuel regional expansion, scale its franchise model, and accelerate international growth without equity dilution
Yakeey (Morocco/PropTech) secured $15M Series A to digitize real estate transactions, modernize brokerage, and expand its proptech platform across MENA
Vennre (KSA/WealthTech) closed $9.6M Pre-Series to expand Shariah-compliant access to private markets and scale its wealth platform
SkipCash (Qatar/FinTech) secured $4M Series A led by Qatar Development Bank to scale its Tap-to-Phone payment infrastructure, and expand digital payments across the GCC
Enakl (Morocco/MobilityTech) raised $2.3M Seed to scale intelligent shared transport systems and expand public and enterprise mobility deployments
Mantas (UAE/InsurTech) raised $1.77M Pre-Seed to launch parametric insurance for cloud downtime, enable automated payouts during outages, and protect from unpriced infrastructure risk
Yozo (UAE/E-commerce) raised $1.7M to build an AI-powered revenue engine that optimizes pricing, demand forecasting, and growth performance for global e-commerce brands
Declic (KSA/AI Social) secured $1M Seed to scale its AI-driven social platform, enhance creator monetization tools, and expand user engagement across regional markets
Juthor (KSA/E-commerce) secured $500K Pre-Seed to streamline multi-channel commerce operations, unify inventory, and scale its AI-driven analytics platform across KSA
Rkiza (KSA/SaaS) raised $133K Pre-Seed to accelerate early product development, expand its digital solutions portfolio, and support local businesses
Receiptable (UAE/RetailTech) secured Seed funding to digitize retail receipts, unlock post-purchase data for merchants, and modernize customer engagement across MENA
More rounds → here
Main Headlines
CedarBridge Capital (UAE) launched a $150M third fund to scale platform businesses across the GCC, with selective expansion into the UK and Europe
NowPay (Egypt/FinTech) entered the Saudi market through a $20M NowAccess joint venture to scale payroll-linked financial wellness solutions
Abwaab (Jordan) acquired Egypt’s Apex Education to expand end-to-end student services spanning tutoring, test prep, and elite global university admissions
Zahid Group (KSA) completed a $1.3B acquisition of South Africa’s Barloworld to expand its industrial footprint across Africa
Glamera (KSA) acquired Booker Group to consolidate booking, payments, and AI-powered operations across GCC
Qoyod (KSA) acquired POS platform Flavours to enter the F&B sector and integrate accounting, payments, and operations
Seventh Decimal (UAE) acquired by Ipsos to scale OOH audience measurement technology across global media and research markets
Merit Incentives (KSA) acquired Australia’s Synchro Marketing to expand globally, deepen enterprise capabilities, and accelerate Asia-Pacific growth
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
Paragon, Adeer and B-Maistro launched the $5M PropteX Accelerator to support proptech startups across Egypt, KSA, and GCC
Moroccan Government announced national AI hackathons and new digital regulations to mobilize local talent
Startup Grind Doha honoured Qatar’s top founders, startups, and ecosystem leaders at the 2025 Tech Startup Community Awards
JoPACC celebrated the graduation of JOIN Fincubator’s third cohort through a six-month incubation journey and Demo Day in Amman
UNDP, Flat6Labs, and New Silk Roads welcomed the fourth GGJAP cohort in Egypt, selecting 26 sustainability-focused SMEs
Qatar Development Bank launched the Reyada Portal to centralize advisory and training services, connect entrepreneurs with service providers, and expand SME support
AUC Venture Lab concluded its Fall 25 Demo Day, graduating 17 startups across AI, fintech, sustainability, and industrial innovation
Tasmu Accelerator graduated its third cohort in Qatar, showcasing 10 startups and generating QAR 330M+ in local sales opportunities
Flow Ventures launched Flow Angels to activate up to $2M in 2026 angel capital for Palestinian Pre-Seed and Seed startups
Leancubator ranked Algeria’s #1 incubator for 2025 after a national evaluation across 192 incubators
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
MoneyHash (UAE) partnered with Spare to enable Pay By Bank for merchants
Madak (KSA) launched a fractional ownership real estate platform under a regulatory sandbox
iSchool (Egypt) partnered with the Financial Regulatory Authority to deliver AI and technology education to employees’ children
Careem Pay (UAE) expanded its global remittance service to Egypt, Lebanon, and the Philippines
Qadi (UAE) partnered with Core42 to power the region’s first sovereign AI RegTech platform
Universal (UAE) secured Central Bank approval to launch USDU, the UAE’s first regulated USD-backed stablecoin
More highlights → here
Open For Application
Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global (Batch 11) | MENA
A 12-week accelerator for MENA-based tech startups with early traction, offering growth-focused mentorship, market expansion support. Deadline: March
SCALE7 Pre-Acceleration and Acceleration Programs | Hybrid
A seven-week hybrid program with two tailored tracks for creative and cultural startups, offering mentorship, ecosystem access, in-kind support, and funding of up to USD 100K. Deadline: Feb 18
Digital Incubation Center Program | Doha
A 6-month incubation program for tech and ICT startups, starting with a mandatory 4-week Idea Camp, offering mentorship, office space, and legal support
Yasmeen AI Virtual Incubator Program | Remote
A fully virtual pre-seed incubation program for Syrian founders, combining AI-powered technical support, structured training, mentorship, and cash prizes. Deadline: Feb 10
Wathba Business Accelerator | Yemen
A women-focused business accelerator supporting Yemeni female founders building digital startups, offering business development, market readiness, and sustainability training
More Programs and Opportunities → here
Techy Bytes
Mowasalat (Karwa) completed a successful public robotaxi trial in Doha
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence released K2 Think V2, a new open-source reasoning model with full transparency
Government of Algeria mandated a new public-sector cybersecurity framework requiring independent security units across agencies
Arabic AI and Stanford unveiled HELM Arabic, a transparent benchmarking framework to rigorously evaluate Arabic language models across open and commercial LLMs
Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah issued a landmark fatwa banning AI tools from Quranic interpretation
Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre launched a 38,000+ title Arabic digital library on Amazon
Notion launched full Arabic language support across its platform
Anthropic upgraded Claude with deep workplace integrations, including Slack, Canva, Figma, and Asana
Elon Musk weighed early merger scenarios that could combine SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI into a single tech platform
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
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More regions: KSA | UAE | Egypt | Syria | Morocco
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