#98 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
GAGA (KSA/EdTech) secured $2.5M Pre-Series A to scale AI-powered live learning for Arabic-speaking students across the Kingdom
MovitOn (UAE/Logistics) secured $2M in pre-sale funding to roll out its decentralized logistics infrastructure and cut cross-border shipping costs through AI and blockchain
HiT (UAE/CollectiblesTech) landed strategic backing to scale its collectibles authentication infrastructure
zypl.ai (UAE/FinTech AI) raised $5.5M bridge round at an $80M valuation to expand its synthetic data platform and enter new international markets
ADGT (UAE/FinTech) secured $250M from Blackstone to build a regulated payments infrastructure and expand globally from Abu Dhabi
GoSwap (Morocco/MobilityTech) secured Seed funding to expand its EV battery-swapping network and accelerate electric mobility adoption across North Africa
ALTÉRRA (UAE) invested in Wireless Logic to scale IoT-enabled decarbonization and accelerate emissions reduction across energy-intensive sectors
Sheikh Hamad joined Neura Robotics’ $1.2B mega-round alongside Amazon and Tether
Prosperity7 Ventures (KSA) backed Gimlet Labs Series A to advance next-generation AI infrastructure
Crescent Enterprises (UAE) co-led $30M Series C in XCath to accelerate surgical robotics R&D
Silicon Badia invested in Scalvy (USA) to address critical energy bottlenecks in compute infrastructure
More rounds → here
Main Headlines
Saudi Public Investment Fund preparing a new 5-year strategy to mobilize global private capital, scale co-investment models, and accelerate international partnerships across key sectors
Phoenix Venture Partners (UAE) completed the third close of PVPIF backed by global investors, to expand early-stage tech investments in MENA
Adenia Partners (Africa) closed a $180M fund to back African SMEs, scale founder-led businesses, and drive institutional growth across the continent
Attijariwafa Bank (Morocco) exploring a strategic stake in Mistral AI to secure access to sovereign AI infrastructure and expand its role in global tech ownership
Solutions by STC (KSA) secured a $372M supercomputing deal with Aramco to deploy high-performance computing systems and accelerate AI-driven upstream operations
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
Sheraa awarded AED 500K to 12 women founders as the first Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship concluded in Sharjah
Egypt’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research launched Technology Valleys to commercialize academic research and back university-born startups
Damascus Chamber of Commerce unveiled a new economic empowerment strategy for Syrian women to expand access to funding, incubators, and mentorship
Female Fusion crowned the top UAE women entrepreneurs at its inaugural 2025 awards
Orange launched the 16th Social Ventures Prize to support impact startups across MENA and Africa
Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park processed 7,500+ licensing transactions in early 2026
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
Mezza (UAE/FoodTech FinTech) launched a debt-free restaurant funding platform to provide upfront capital in exchange for dining credits, helping F&B operators scale without loans or equity dilution
Alaan (UAE/FinTech) launched an AED 3M SME relief initiative to cover utility and telecom bills, reduce operational costs, and support businesses with free access to its corporate spend platform
Ninja (KSA/Q-commerce) advanced its Tadawul IPO plans as a unicorn, expanding across the GCC and engaging global investors ahead of a potential public listing
Navid (KSA/AI) launched a human-rated Arabic text-to-speech leaderboard to benchmark voice models through native speaker evaluation and improve Arabic AI voice quality through open community testing
Prop-AI (UAE/PropTech) launched the Dubai Deal Index to track real estate market data, surface pricing shifts, and help investors navigate the property market with real-time intelligence
Sham Cash (Syria/FinTech) denied a security breach amid controversy over its state adoption, defending its infrastructure as scrutiny grows around Syria’s digital payments rollout
Peekapak (EdTech) grants free access to its wellbeing platform for GCC schools, supporting student mental health and aligning with the UAE’s Year of the Family 2026
XCath (HealthTech) completed the world’s first telerobotic stroke surgery, enabling remote neurovascular procedures and advancing global access to critical care
More highlights → here
Open For Application
Zaka Agentic AI Bootcamp | Online
An 8-week AI bootcamp focused on building real-world AI agents, offering hands-on projects, certification, and practical automation skills for professionals and entrepreneurs.
Deadline: April 1
Misk Challenge for Change Program | Hybrid, KSA
A 7-week accelerator and grant program for non-profits and social enterprises, offering mentorship, bootcamps, and up to SAR 1M in funding per track.
Deadline: April 4
Aqaba Sword-Fish Fund (ASFF) | Aqaba, Jordan
An investment readiness and accelerator program for Jordanian startups, providing mentorship, business model development, and direct access to investors and strategic partners
TechnoPark AI Research Award 2026 | Birzeit, Palestine
A research competition and innovation award for Palestinian researchers, offering cash prizes, incubation opportunities, and global exposure during AI Week 2026.
Deadline: April 10
Agentic AI Challenge 2026 | Birzeit, Palestine
An AI hackathon and innovation challenge for developers, researchers, and low-code builders, offering technical mentorship, cash prizes, and exposure during Palestine AI Week.
Deadline: April 1
Social Innovation Lab 2026 | Hybrid, Yemen
A social innovation lab and incubation program for Yemeni entrepreneurs tackling Blue Economy challenges, offering a $5K equity-free grant, 3 months of incubation, and investor access.
Deadline: April 10
LaunchX Expansion Support Program | Morocco / Africa
A market entry and execution support program for corporates and investors expanding into Morocco and Africa, offering de-risking, local partner access, and hands-on growth support.
More Programs and Opportunities → here
Techy Bytes
Morocco joined WIPO’s global AI infrastructure initiative to protect digital IP rights
NYU Abu Dhabi mapped the Sun’s hidden magnetic waves in a breakthrough discovery, enabling better space weather prediction and advancing global astrophysics research
HUMAIN (KSA/AI) partnered with Turing to launch an enterprise AI agent marketplace, enabling businesses to deploy and monetize autonomous AI workflows across functions
Louvre Abu Dhabi launched a museum curriculum portal to digitize UAE school learning, map global artworks to subjects, and integrate cultural assets into classrooms
Saudia integrated Google Find Hub to enhance baggage recovery, enabling real-time item tracking and improving airline operational efficiency
OpenAI shut down the Sora social app after six months, as user retention dropped and moderation challenges exposed limits of AI-first consumer platforms
Meta launched Meta Small Business to drive AI adoption among SMEs,
WhatsApp rolled out AI-generated chat responses and media tools to automate messaging and enhance content creation
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
More regions: KSA | UAE | Egypt | Syria | Morocco
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