#99 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
Lucky (Egypt/FinTech) raised $23M Series B to scale its consumer credit platform and expand into select North African markets
Jozo (KSA/PropTech) raised SAR 8.3M in Seed funding to expand its real estate tokenization platform and unlock fractional property ownership in the Kingdom
ZSystems (Morocco/RetailTech) raised $1.65M Seed to digitize Morocco’s $40B retail supply chain and scale its marketplace connecting brands, wholesalers, and retailers
Maison Safqa (KSA/FashionTech) landed $620K Pre-Seed to help premium and luxury brands clear overstock across the GCC without diluting brand equity
ElGoat (KSA/SportsTech) scored $266K Seed to build its skill-based football prediction platform and grow across the MENA sports gaming market
AVA (KSA/FinTech) secured strategic investment from Plug and Play Middle East to scale its IoT-enabled payment infrastructure for unattended retail and mobility sectors
WAYA Media (Egypt) secured strategic investment from Foras.ai to expand bilingual business journalism and scale its editorial, data, and video capabilities across MENA
Prosperity7 Ventures (KSA) backed NeuBird AI’s $19.3M round to support AI-powered IT operations and digital infrastructure tooling
More rounds → here
Main Headlines
Falak Startups (Egypt) exited Delta Oil at 25.5x in a milestone return that highlights the value of hands-on venture building and signals growing ecosystem maturity in Egypt
Tamwilcom (Morocco) rolled out a $69M+ startup program to back 800 ventures, expand venture-building support, and strengthen Morocco’s early-stage innovation pipeline
EnerVenue targeting the Saudi market after a $300M funding round to launch pilot projects, scale long-duration energy storage, and deepen its Middle East commercial footprint
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority backed Blackstone and TPG’s private takeover of Hologic to deepen its exposure to global health tech and women’s medical innovation
Aramco Ventures (KSA) backed Via Separations’ $36M round to scale energy-efficient industrial filtration and advance heavy industry decarbonization
Dubai unveiled a $272M stimulus package to ease business costs, boost workforce flexibility, and support growth across key sectors
Qatar scrapped the physical store requirement for e-commerce licenses, lowering entry barriers for startups and formalizing online retail under a new regulatory framework
More updates → here
Ecosystem Updates
Propeller brought five deep-tech startups from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia to Silicon Valley through its inaugural Kernel Camp residency
Saudi Arabia launched a regulatory sandbox to fast-track proptech and urban innovation and give startups a real-world testbed for municipal and housing solutions
EFG Hermes unlocked institutional funds for retail investors on its ONE app, expanding access to professionally managed products across gold, equities, and fixed income
Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park launched BASE39 to unite the UAE’s creative sector and build a stronger platform for collaboration, talent, and innovation in Sharjah
Orange Egypt launched the Orange Social Venture Prize with €70K to support early-stage startups and advance top Egyptian winners to regional competition across Africa and the Middle East
DIFC rolled out a support package to help businesses manage short-term economic pressures through payment flexibility, fee relief, and temporary regulatory support
Jordan launched AgriTech Jordan to support startups tackling food security, climate resilience, and sustainable agricultural innovation
Orange Maroc and Technopark partnered to grow AI startups in Morocco through the new AI Garden program, focused on data, cloud, and digital transformation support
More updates → here
Startups Highlights
Manhat (UAE/ClimateTech) was named among the Change 100 as a top global impact startup to watch in 2026 for its sustainable water distillation technology
Snoonu (Qatar/Q-commerce) inked a deal with NAMA to give local entrepreneurs access to its platform, logistics infrastructure, and growth support services
Chari (Morocco/FinTech) powered a new digital business account for SMEs with Visa and Zazu, bringing faster onboarding and modern financial tools to Moroccan businesses
Ora Technologies (Morocco/FinTech) partnered with Mastercard and Lana Cash to launch the first international payment card issued by a Moroccan startup
ValU (Egypt/FinTech) partnered with the Egyptian government to offer instalment payments for mobile phone customs fees and reduce friction around handset compliance
Labayh (KSA/HealthTech) surpassed 3M users as it scaled mental health support across consumer, corporate, and education segments in the Kingdom
ItsRaw.ai (UAE/MarTech) launched an AI-powered PR platform to help UAE restaurants generate media coverage and tap into the country’s $1B F&B marketing market
More highlights → here
Open For Application
Scale-Beyond Growth Program | Jordan-based
A 9-month growth program for Jordan-based tech startups, offering tailored mentorship, investment readiness support, and market access to the GCC, EU, and US
Deadline: May 3
Orange Corners Sudan Cohort 9 | Sudan
A 6-month incubation program for Sudanese founders, offering one-on-one coaching, coworking access, and up to €5K in financial support
Deadline: April 30
Wiki StartUp 2026 Incubation Program | Tunisia
A tailored incubation program for entrepreneurs and startups at all stages, offering mentoring, training, coworking access, and strategic support through customized service packs
Deadline: April 30
Exel Gaming Accelerator Cohort 3 | KSA
A 16-week gaming accelerator for early-stage startups, offering up to $300K in funding, AI-focused mentorship, and direct access to investors and publishers
Deadline: May 21
TikTok x Blossom SME Empowerment Program | KSA
A hackathon and accelerator program for AI-native startups in KSA, offering funding access, expert mentorship, and TikTok-powered visibility for ambitious founders
More Programs and Opportunities → here
Techy Bytes
Dubai launched 100 autonomous taxis across Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim, advancing its driverless mobility strategy and expanding real-world urban AV deployment
Khalifa University unveiled RF-GPT, a breakthrough AI model that translates radio signals into plain language and opens new possibilities for spectrum intelligence and AI-native wireless networks
MBZUAI launched PaperCircle, an open-source AI system to help researchers manage literature overload through automated discovery, analysis, and multi-agent paper review
Egypt tapped Microsoft for an AI overhaul of its national food subsidy system to modernize public service delivery through data and digital infrastructure
Qatar University tapped Huawei to launch AI-powered smart classrooms and build a more interactive, data-driven hybrid learning model
Saudi Ministry of Justice bet on AI to overhaul the national judiciary, aiming to improve procedural efficiency, support decision-making, and upgrade judicial services under a new institutional framework
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 | Events | Entrepreneurship | Proptech | Arabictech
More regions: KSA | UAE | Qatar | Egypt | Syria | Morocco | Palestine
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