Founded by Dr. Mazen A. Melibari, Mohammed Daggas, Mazen Alotaibi, Ahmed Al‐Suhaim, Fatima Al‐Saeed, and Ahmed Al‐Rashidi, DEEP.SA develops AI engines and specialised AI agents for consumer and government markets.
Founded in 2019 by Ahmed Rostom, Mahmoud Metwaly, and Mohamed Hegazy, Wuilt began as an Arabic‐language website builder for users with little technical know‐how, promising sites built “in five minutes.”
This week on VC React, we break down Meta’s eye-watering billion-dollar overtures to Mira Murati’s newborn Thinking Machines Lab, taste-test Calo’s $64 million war-chest for its AI “private-chef” push, tune in to Sawt’s Arabic voice-bot gambit, and decode the UAE’s brand-new open-finance rails.
Al‐Salah returns to the organisation where he began his career in entrepreneurship support, later holding roles at the EBRD and serving as MD of Beyond Capital.
Calo closes $39M Series B extension, MENA’s new playbook for non‐dilutive funding, Breadfast valuation jumps 31% to $382M in six months, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.
Murabaha mark‐ups instead of interest, revenue‐share buybacks instead of rigid instalments, and new structures like NICE and WAQFA that keep funding both founder‐friendly and Shariah‐compliant.
VNV Global marks up its stake as the Cairo‐based quick‐commerce player nears 1M monthly orders and secures fresh $10M from the EBRD to fuel expansion.
Saudi payments app Barq has surged past 7 million users, issued 6.5 million cards and processed SAR 73B ($19.5B) in transactions since July 2024.
Revolut is stepping up its North Africa expansion, naming former Uber Southern and Eastern Europe operations director Amine Berrada to lead its push into Morocco.
What's behind the increase in new venture debt funds launching across the Gulf, promising “founder-first,” non-dilutive capital? Who are the players rewriting the playbook? And what does all of this mean for founders, investors, and LPs?
The milestone comes as the firm marks five years of operations in the region, where it has introduced minimally dilutive funding structures, including tailored Sharia‐compliant facilities, to address gaps in the debt financing market for scaling tech businesses.
The Series B extension led by AlJazira Capital, brings the company's total Series B funding to $64 million, following an initial $25 million tranche in December 2024.
This week on VC React, we dig into Anthropic’s Dario Amodei’s Gulf money u-turn, size up Elon’s Saudi megacluster ambitions, ask whether QR‐pay darling Qlub can outrun copycats, and weigh up 500 Global’s new Abu-Dhabi-based $300 million “Sustainable Growth Fund”.
Founded in 2020 by Ram Merei, Malak Duraidi, and Obada Abdelkareem, Ramallah and Amman-based Olivery offers an end-to-end logistics SaaS platform that digitises delivery operations for couriers, e-commerce brands, and retailers.
The round marks the first investment from STV’s newly launched AI fund and includes a strategic partnership with T2, giving Sawt access to enterprise customers and infrastructure support.
Founded in 2019 by Hisham Al-Falih, Ashu Gupta, and Aditya Sarkar, Lean enables businesses such as Tabby, Talabat, and Careem to access user-permissioned financial data and initiate account-to-account payments.
500 Global launches $300M Sustainable Growth initiative, Qlub raises $30M Series B, foreign startups flock to Saudi Arabia as VC funding hits $860M in H1, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.
Foreign interest in Saudi’s startup ecosystem is surging, with the Ministry of Investment issuing 550 new Riyadi licences to non-Saudi startups in H1 2025 – a 118% year-over-year jump.
The company secures fresh backing from Shorooq Partners, Bunat Ventures and Plug and Play, in a deal that comes six months after its US $4 million round and pushes the company’s valuation to twice its February 2025 level.
Led by CEO and Managing Director Ahmed Mohsen, Lime is targeting a large and underserved market. Lime offers installment plans of up to 12 months for education expenses, with loan values of up to EGP 1 million and approvals granted within minutes through a fully digital onboarding journey.
Founded by Ahmed Zaki, Nehal Helmy, and Saif Edeen El Bendari, Flend is licensed by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) as a Digital Non-Banking Financial Institution. The company offers short-term working capital loans to SMEs through a fully digital platform, streamlining everything from onboarding and credit scoring to disbursement and collections using digitally binding contracts.
