Last month, there were 22 investments and 5 secondary transactions in the MENA between 3 February – 2 March:
Investments:
8 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), 3 Egypt, 3 United Arab Emirates (UAE), 3 Morocco, 2 Bahrain, 1 Yemen, 1 Oman, 1 Iraq
Acquisitions:
5 United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Bonus:
1 UAE-based investor financed a US-based company.
Sectors Received Investments:
3 Fintech
3 E-commerce
2 Healthtech
2 Gifting
2 HR Tech
2 Foodtech
1 Grocery Shopping
1 Agritech
1 Logictics
1 Mobility
1 Last Mile
1 Proptech
1 Drone Operations
1 Edtech
1 Social Commerce
News of the Week
🎯 Digital banking platform Aion Digital raised funding.
API-based digital banking platform Aion Digital, has raised $5 million in a bridge round led by Fintactics Ventures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $5.000.000
Investors: Fintactics Ventures
Co-founders: Ashar Nazim, Shariq Nazim
Country: Bahrain
🎯 Expense management platform Hollydesk raised funding.
Fintech Hollydesk, which allows companies to generate reports to analyze their spending patterns, has raised $1 million from unknown investors.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $1.000.000
Investors: Unknown investors
Co-founders: Mahmoud Moussa
Country: Egypt
🎯 Fintech startup Amwal raised funding.
Amwal, a fintech that aims to improve the way money gets authenticated worldwide, received an investment of $2.5 million in a pre-Seed round. The investment round co-led by Shorooq Partners and Outliers Venture Capital, alongside angel investors.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $2.500.000
Investors: Shorooq Partners, Outliers Venture Capital, angel investors
Co-founders: Mohamed Zaghoo, Reda Reda
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 B2B e-commerce startup Chari raised funding.
Chari, which allows retailers to purchase large quantities of inventory items directly from suppliers, has raised a $1 million from Orange Ventures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $1.000.000
Investors: Orange Ventures
Co-founders: Ismael Belkhayat, Sophia Alj
Country: Morocco
🎯 E-commerce platform Mobile Masr raised funding.
Mobile Masr, a marketplace for used mobile phones and electronics, has raised a $500,000 Seed round from a group of angel investors based in the UAE and Qatar.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $500,000
Investors: Angel investors
Co-founders: Wael El Ashry
Country: Egypt
🎯 E-commerce store Orisdi raised funding.
Orisdi, an e-commerce platform that offers a range of products across various verticals, has raised $220,000 in a Bridge round. The investment round was held with the participation of Al Sharqiya TV Group and 3B Starlight Investment, along with angel investors.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $220,000
Investors: Al Sharqiya TV Group, 3B Starlight Investment, angel investors
Co-founders: Ahmed Al Kiremli, Hala Usama
Country: Iraq
🎯 Healthtech startup Yodawy raised funding.
Yodawy, a marketplace where patients can process prescriptions and order medication online, received an investment of $16 million in the first close of its Series B round. The investment round was co-led by Delivery Hero Ventures and Global Ventures. AAIC Investment, MEVP, C-Ventures and P1 Ventures also participated in the investment round.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $16.000.000
Investors: Delivery Hero Ventures, Global Ventures, AAIC Investment, MEVP, C-Ventures, P1 Ventures
Co-founders: Karim Khashaba, Yasser Abdel Gawad, Sherief El-Feky
Country: Egypt
🎯 Cloud-based healthtech SANTECHTURE raised funding.
SANTECHTURE, which offers technology solutions for patients and healthcare providers, has raised an investment from Gulf Capital (GC) and Shorooq Partners.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: –
Investors: Gulf Capital, Shorooq Partners
Co-founders: Anas Batikhi
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🎯 Gift delivery platform Floward raised funding.
An online flower and gift delivery platform Floward, received an investment of $156 million in a pre-IPO Series C round led by Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners and STV.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $156.000.000
Investors: Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners, STV
Co-founders: AbdulaIaziz Loughani
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🎯 E-gifting platform YOUGotAGift raised funding.
YOUGotAGift, the platform that allows corporate clients to send gifts to their customers, has raised $3 million from Tenami Capital.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $3.000.000
Investors: Tenami Capital
Co-founders: Husain Makiya
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🎯 HR tech platform palm.hr raised funding.
palm.hr, which offers human resources services for teams in the MENA region, recevied an investment of $5 million in its pre-Series A round. The investment round was co-led by Speedinvest and RAED Ventures, with participation from Wamda Capital.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $5.000.000
Investors: Speedinvest, RAED Ventures, Wamda Capital
Co-founders: Richard Schrems, Christoph Czichna, Dragan Nikolic
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Work solution provider Marn raised funding.
HR tech Marn, a flexible work solution provider, has raised $1 million in post-Seed round led by Sukna Ventures. Almajdia Investment and several angel investors also participated in the investment round.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $1.000.000
Investors: Sukna Ventures, Almajdia Investment, angel investors
Co-founders: Mohammad AlSabeeh, Albaraa AlGhefaili
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Foodtech startup Tawseel raised funding.
Tawseel, a platfprm that aims to build a one-stop app for local restaurants, has raised an investment from Numu Capital, a Dubai-based early-stage venture capital firm.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: –
Investors: Numu Capital
Co-founders: Abdulhamid Thaiban
Country: Yemen
🎯 Food manufacturing company Rebellyous raised funding.
Rebellyous Foods, a food manufacturer that has developed a technology to make a variety of plant-based chicken products, has raised $9.5 million from UAE-based KBW Ventures. Clear Current Capital, Fifty Years, Liquid 2 Ventures, CPT Capital and Agronomics also participated in the investment tour.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $9.500.000
Investors: KBW Ventures, Clear Current Capital, Fifty Years, Liquid 2 Ventures, CPT Capital, Agronomics
Co-founders: Christie Lagally
Country: USA
🎯 Grocery delivery app Nana raised funding.
Digital grocery shopping platform Nana, received an investment of $133 million in a Series C funding round led by Kingdom Holding and Uni Ventures. Sultan Holding, Al-Jasser Holding, Red Diamond Co, Dallah Al-Baraka Group, AlJammaz Holding and several other investors also participated in the investment round.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $133.000.000
Investors: Kingdom Holding, Uni Ventures, Sultan Holding, Al-Jasser Holding, Red Diamond Co, Dallah Al-Baraka Group, AlJammaz Holding, angel investors
Co-founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Sami Alhelwah
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Agritech startup Sand-to-Green raised funding.
Sand to Green, a startup that provides a long-term solution to the problems of desertification, land degradation and food security, has raised $1 million in a Seed funding round from Norwegian Katapult and pre-Seed fund from Catalyst.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $1.000.000
Investors: Norwegian Katapult, Catalyst
Co-founders: Benjamin Rombaut
Country: Morocco
🎯 Logistics provider WeDeliver raised funding.
B2B logistics and last-mile delivery services provider WeDeliver, has raised a pre-Series A round from BIM Ventures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: –
Investors: BIM Ventures
Co-founders: Ahmad Ramahi, Mohammad Abu Kwaik
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Mobility startup Telgani raised funding.
Telgani, which offers various transportation solutions and car rental options, received an investment of $6 million in Series A funding round. The investment round was co-led by Hala Auto and Elm Company.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $6.000.000
Investors: Hala Auto, Elm Company
Co-founders: Abdulkader Almkinzy, Ali Alfehaid
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Last mile provider Parcel raised funding.
Parcel, a platform that provides on-demand delivery services by connecting businesses with freelance drivers, has raised $1 million from Hope Ventures, along with Jahez and Cari.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $1.000.000
Investors: Hope Ventures, Jahez and Cari
Co-founders: Ali Dhaif
Country: Bahrain
🎯 Proptech startup Munjz raised funding.
Munjz, a a cloud platform for property and real estate management, received an investment of $5 million in Series A round, led by undisclosed investors. Vision Venture, Almajdiah Investment Company and Watheeq Proptech Fund also participated in the investment round.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $5.000.000
Investors: Vision Venture, Almajdiah Investment Company, Watheeq Proptech Fund, other investors
Co-founders: Abdullah AlDaij
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🎯 Drone operations service provider AirGo raised funding.
Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) drones startup AirGo, has raised $2.7 million in a Seed round from Forming Futures.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $2.700.000
Investors: Forming Futures
Co-founders: –
Country: Oman
🎯 Edtech startup KOOLSKOOLS raised funding.
Collaborative educational platform KOOLSKOOLS, received an investment of $960.000 (MAD 10 million) from Azur Innovation Fund.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: $960.000
Investors: Azur Innovation Fund
Co-founders: Mariam Zrii, Nouredine Amrani
Country: Morocco
🎯 Social commerce platform Ygii raised funding.
Ygii, the social commerce platform that enables users to create and share wish lists with friends and family, received an investment in a pre-Seed round from Flat6labs, along with a group of angel investors.
Transaction Type: Investment
Investment Amount: –
Investors: Flat6labs, angel investors
Co-founders: Abdulkareem Aloumi, Ayman Alzamil
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
🛒 KSA-based noon.com acquires Namshi.
E-commerce platform noon.com has acquired UAE-based fashion shopping platform Namshi.
Transaction Type: Acquisition
Investment Amount: –
Investors: noon.com
Co-founders: Faraz Khalid, Hisham Zarka, Hosam Arab, Louis Lebbos, Muhammed Mekki
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🛒 Hala acquires Paymennt.com.
KSA-based fintech Hala has acquired UAE-based fintech Paymennt.com, for an unknown sum.
Transaction Type: Acquisition
Investment Amount: –
Investors: Hala
Co-founders: Bashar Saleh, Tarek Ghobar
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🛒 e& acquires UAE-based ServiceMarket.
etisalat by e&, has acquired UAE-based online marketplace for household services, ServiceMarket.
Transaction Type: Acquisition
Investment Amount: –
Investors: e&
Co-founders: Bana Shomali, Wim Torfs
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🛒 Healthtech makeO acquires Smileneo.
India-based healthtech makeO has acquired UAE-based healthtech Smileneo, for an unknown sum.
Transaction Type: Acquisition
Investment Amount: –
Investors: makeO
Co-founders: Jonathan Doerr
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
🛒 Kitopi acquires AWJ.
UAE-based cloud kitchen operator Kitopi has acquired Dubai-founded food and beverage (F&B) group AWJ.
Transaction Type: Acquisition
Investment Amount: –
Investors: Kitopi
Co-founders: –
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Other News:
📌 KSA-based VC firm IMPACT46, has announced a new fund ($133 million) to invest in technology startups in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and North Africa region. The Fund is the third and largest fund by IMPACT46.
📌 Batelco and Bahrain Development for SME Society, have signed a partnership agreement for providing exclusive offers for the benefit of every entrepreneur and business owner who are members of the BDSME and also its incubators.
📌 Co-working space The Space, has merged with Vibes to become the largest co-working space in the MENA.
📌 Saudi Arabia-based investment firm STV has announced the launch of its Total Growth platform to accelerate the growth of tech companies in MENA.
📌 Lean Node Startup Studio and Mjalis Investment has announced the establishment of “Lean Fintech”, a venture builder for Fintech startups. The partnership aims to build innovative fintech startups to improve the quality of life and community service.
📌 Flat6Labs has announced the first close of the “Startup Seed Fund” in Saudi Arabia. The fund is a SAR 75 million fund, dedicated to investing in early-stage startups operating in the technology and innovation sectors within the KSA.
📌 Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) has received a $27 million commitment from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for its $150 million fund to support e-commerce, healthcare technology and edtech companies in the MENAP region.
📌 Hub71 has launched the “Hub71+ Digital Assets” to fund Web3 startups and blockchain technologies, in partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).
📌 Global community of angel funds and investors COREangels has launched the COREangels MEA to target investments in early-stage startups in the MENA.
📌 UAE-based VC firm 8X Ventures has announced its plans to deploy $20 million in the MENA region’s climate tech and cleantech startups. The VC firm has also plans to help the startups in its portfolio to expand to the Middle East by 2024.
📌 SEA Ventures has partnered with a cloud-based restaurant technology FOODICS in the MENA, to digitally empower entrepreneurs in the F&B sector by providing technical solutions.
📌 Digital family payment solutions app Copal has signed a strategic partnership with Mastercard to introduce its family payment and expenses management app in Egypt.
📌 BOTIM and Fawry has partnered to provide residents in the UAE and GCC countries with a seamless and convenient way to pay bills & invoices.
📌 KSA-based VC firm Emkan Capital has launched a new fund to ( $31 million) to invest in pre-Seed and Seed startups in the MENA, focusing on fintech, e-commerce and logistics sectors.
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