Funding, launches and moves across the region's startups and investors — every story sourced and dated.
Nestcoin, which builds, operates and invests in web3 applications, has raised $6.45 million in pre-seed capital three months after launch. The round was backed by 4DX Ventures and Serena Williams' Serena Ventures. The company aims to accelerate crypto and web3 adoption in
African payments company Flutterwave has closed a $250 million Series D that tripled its valuation to over $3 billion, making it the highest-valued African startup at the time. The round was led by B Capital Group. Proceeds will fund customer acquisition, M&A and new products.
Egyptian creator-economy platform Minly has raised $3.6 million in a seed round co-led by 4DX Ventures, B&Y Venture Partners and Global Ventures. Minly lets fans buy personalised video messages from regional celebrities. Angel backers included Scooter Braun and Jeffrey
Cairo-based restaurant engagement platform Koinz has raised a $4.8 million seed round led by Justin Mateen, co-founder of Tinder, with 4DX Ventures also participating. Koinz helps restaurants use data and a digital rewards system to grow revenue. Some 4 million users had
Egyptian subscription-management platform SubsBase has closed a $2.4 million seed round led by Global Ventures. The cloud platform helps recurring-revenue businesses manage collections, billing and analytics. Investors included HALA Ventures, P1 Ventures and Plug and Play.
Recruitment and video-interviewing software company Elevatus has raised a $10.5 million Series A co-led by Global Ventures and Aramco's Wa'ed Ventures, with Jasoor Ventures participating. Elevatus offers AI-enabled hiring tools and says its software has powered over 3 million
Saudi Arabia-based HR tech platform palm.hr has closed a $5 million pre-Series A round co-led by Speedinvest and RAED Ventures, with Wamda Capital participating. The platform handles onboarding, time and vacation tracking, payroll and offboarding. Proceeds will fund regional
Amman-based mobile classifieds marketplace OpenSooq has raised $24 million in a round led by the Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund. Existing investors FJ Labs and iMENA Group also participated. OpenSooq operates across 19 MENA countries and plans to hire 400 more people in
Opontia, a startup that acquires and grows e-commerce brands, has raised $42 million in a Series A of equity and venture debt less than a year after launch. STV led the equity investment. The capital will fund brand acquisitions across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle
Dubai-based fintech qlub has raised $17 million in seed financing co-led by Cherry Ventures and Point Nine. qlub lets diners pay restaurant bills in seconds by scanning a QR code, with bill-splitting and installment options. Investors included STV, Raed Ventures and Shorooq
Saudi-based digital freight platform TruKKer has raised $96 million in a Series B of equity and debt, the largest MENA round at the time. The equity was led by ADQ and Saudi Technology Ventures, with participation from Mubadala. TruKKer integrates land-freight supply and
Proximie, a health-tech platform that digitally connects operating rooms, has raised $80 million in Series C funding led by Advent Life Sciences. New investors included SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Mubadala and Emerson Collective. The platform lets clinicians virtually 'scrub in'
UAE-based agritech Pure Harvest Smart Farms has secured $180.5 million from global investors in what was pegged as the largest convertible financing in the MEASA region. Backers included Metric Capital Partners, IMM Investment Corp and the Olayan Group. The capital funds
Saudi Shariah-compliant debt-crowdfunding marketplace Lendo has raised about $28 million in a Series B anchored by PIF's Sanabil Investments. Shorooq Partners and AB Ventures also participated. Lendo helps pre-finance outstanding invoices for SMEs and is licensed by the Saudi
Saudi BNPL platform Tamara has raised a $340 million Series C at a valuation of over $1 billion, becoming the Kingdom's first homegrown fintech unicorn. The round was co-led by SNB Capital and PIF's Sanabil Investments. Tamara serves more than 10 million users across Saudi
Egyptian conversational-AI startup DXwand has raised a $4 million Series A led by Shorooq Partners. The company builds large language models and omnichannel conversational AI that automates customer and citizen-service conversations. Algebra Ventures and Dubai Future District
UAE-based podcast platform Podeo has closed a $5.4 million Series A led by Oraseya Capital. Founded in Lebanon in 2020, Podeo helps creators distribute and monetise podcasts. The company says it supports over 100,000 creators reaching more than 50 million listeners, and is now
Saudi deeptech Intelmatix has closed a $20 million Series A led by Shorooq Partners, described as the largest AI Series A in MENA at the time. The round will expand its EDIX enterprise decision-intelligence platform. Investors include SVC, STV, Olayan Financing Company and
Dubai-based Journify has raised $4 million in a round led by Silicon Badia, with participation from RZM and other strategic investors. Journify's AI platform captures, unifies and activates first-party data for marketers. It reported reaching $1 million ARR within nine months
UAE-based ClearGrid has come out of stealth having closed a $10 million dual round, split between a $3.5 million pre-seed and a $6.5 million seed. Raed Ventures, Beco Capital and Nuwa Capital co-led the rounds. ClearGrid operates an AI-powered debt-collections platform for
Saudi fintech SiFi (Simplified Financial Solutions Company) has raised a $20 million Series A led by Ra'ed Ventures. The round brings total funding to over $34 million following a $10 million seed. SiFi offers corporate cards, automated expense management and vendor payments
Egyptian point-of-sale consumer financing platform Blnk has closed a $37 million Series A, comprising $12.5 million in equity and $24.6 million in debt. The equity round was led by Algebra Ventures. The capital will fund product expansion, new markets and a planned credit card
Online flower and gift delivery platform Floward has raised $156 million in a pre-IPO Series C round announced at LEAP 2023. The round was led by Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners and STV. It brings the company's total funding to over $190 million since 2017.
Fintech Abhi has secured a $15 million credit facility led by Shorooq Partners and Amplify Growth Partnership. Abhi provides earned-wage access, letting employees draw earned salary on demand. It operates across Pakistan, the UAE and Bangladesh.