Last week, there were 9 startup investments in the MENA between April 25 – May 1:
Investments:
4 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), 4 United Arab Emirates (UAE), 1 Iraq
Sectors Received Investments:
2 Financial Services
1 Advertising
1 Blockchain
1 Health Care
1 Gaming
1 Subscription
1 E-Commerce
1 Automotive
News of the Week
🎯 Fintech startup Erad raised $16 million.
Erad, which provides Shariah-compliant, data-driven financing to SMEs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has raised $16 million in pre-Series A funding round from Y Combinator, Nuwa Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Aljazira Capital, VentureSouq, Oraseya Capital and Joa Capital.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Y Combinator, Nuwa Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Aljazira Capital, VentureSouq, Oraseya Capital, Joa Capital
Co-founders: Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Almeheini, Youssef Said
Headquarters: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Digital infrastructure solutions platform Zest Equity raised $4.3 million.
Zest Equity, which enables ecosystem players like founders and venture capitalists to sell their secondary shares online, has raised $4.3 million in pre-Series A funding from Prosus Ventures, Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Prosus Ventures, Morgan Stanley Inclusive, Sustainable Ventures
Co-founders: Rawan Baddour, Zuhair Shamma
Headquarters: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🎯 Digital platform supporter iMENA raised $135 million.
Digital platform supporter iMENA Group, has raised $135 million in pre-IPO investment from Sanabil Investments, FJ Labs, and Saygin Yalcin, the founder and CEO of SellAnyCar and a number of other Saudi investors.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Sanabil Investments, FJ Labs, Saygin Yalcin, other investors
Co-founders: Nasir Alsharif, Khaldoon Tabaza, Adey Salamin
Headquarters: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Blockchain infrastructure platform Fuze raised $12.2 million.
Fuze, which offers Digital Assets as a Service, OTC trading, has raised $12.2 million in Series A funding round from Galaxy, e& capital and Further Ventures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Galaxy, e& capital, Further Ventures
Co-founders: Mo Ali Yusuf, Arpit Mehta, Srijan Shetty
Headquarters: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🎯 Healthtech startup Tuba raised $8 million.
Tuba, which leverages artificial intelligence to improve healthcare management by enhancing operational efficiency, reducing costs, and creating more transparent, patient-centric solutions for providers and users alike, has raised $8 million in pre-Seed funding round from Al-Waalan Investment and angel investors.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Al-Waalan Investment, angel investors
Co-founders: Fayez Al-Anazi
Headquarters: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Gaming startup True Gamers raised $5 million.
True Gamers, a next-generation e-sports gaming café, has raised $5 million in Seed funding round.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: –
Co-founders: Anton Vasilenko
Headquarters: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🎯 Subscription management platform Techrar raised $1.6 million.
Techrar, which specialises in managing subscriptions, memberships, and recurring bills, has raised $1.6 million from Wa’ed Ventures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Wa’ed Ventures
Co-founders: Safwan Saigh, Fawzan Alkhlawi, Rania Shaker
Headquarters: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Premium e-commerce platform Hushday raised $550.000.
Hushday, which offers consumers an invitation-only platform with access to luxury and premium brands’ excess inventory while allowing brands to maintain pricing control and brand positioning, has raised $550.000 in pre-Seed funding round from undisclosed investors.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Regional investors
Co-founders: Jennifer Cohen Solal, Riad Djabri
Headquarters: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🎯 Autotech startup iQ Cars raised funding.
iQ Cars, an online car marketplace platform that hosts over 34,000 listings and 1,000+ car dealers, has raised an investment in Seed funding round from Euphrates Ventures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investors: Euphrates Ventures
Co-founders: Amer Salih
Headquarters: Iraq
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