Riyadh - Exclusive Sharikat Mubasher: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a vibrant surge in startup activity, characterized by increasing investments and a diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem.
During the first three weeks of November, Saudi, Egyptian, and Emirati startups collectively secured over $106 million across different rounds, according to data compiled by Sharikat Mubasher.
Saudi Arabia’s Lean Technologies led the list with a $67.5 million series B round led by General Catalyst, followed by the UAE-based Epik Foods which secured $15.5 million from Ruya Partners.
Pemo, the leading fintech company based in the UAE, also raised a $7 million pre-series A to fuel its expansion plans in the region, while the Riyadh-based fintech services provider EdfaPay secured $5 million in a pre-series A round led by OmanTel Innovation Labs, with participation from Aljabr MENA and Waad Investment.
Further, the Egyptian direct-to-consumer home and décor brand Ariika raised $3 million in a series A extension round to expand its business in the region. Similarly, Qara, an Egyptian startup specializing in supply chain technology, collected $2.6 million to expand into Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the broader region.
Amenli, the Egyptian insurtech startup also raised a $2.3 million funding round to accelerate its growth, diversify its distribution channels, and integrate cutting-edge AI-driven technologies.
The UAE-based maritime fintech platform, Shipfinex, secured $1.5 million in a seed round, led by Gaurav Mehta, Chairman of Best Oasis Limited and SPM Shipping DMCC.
Saudi Arabia’s online hotel booking platform RoomHour received investments worth $532,000 from the Namu Hub incubator and accelerator during the Biban24 Forum.
Popcorn AI, a leading platform enabling businesses to create sophisticated AI shopping assistants, secured $500,000 in a pre-seed round to advance the platform’s conversational AI capabilities and expand its team of AI and commerce experts.
The Saudi social media platform Bubbl raised $350,000 in a pre-seed round to achieve its mission of reaching one million active users daily.
Moreover, Warburg AI, a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) for the finance sector headquartered in Dubai, successfully secured $250,000 in a seed round to revolutionize financial services through AI-powered technologies.
Finally, Saudi Arabia’s Nybl, Egypt’s Efreshli, and the Dubai-based Brands.io successfully raised undisclosed funding rounds during the first three weeks in November.
