Jamie Lane

Jamie Lane is the co-founder of FWDstart, a Gulf/MENA-focused tech and venture publication aiming to be the region’s referential source for rigorous analysis and original reporting. Based in Abu Dhabi, Jamie’s coverage spans AI, fintech, and the evolving capital stack in MENA. He also hosts the VC React podcast. Before FWDstart, he led digital strategy at a pan-European B2B publishing house, overseeing editorial, subscriptions, and commercial operations.

UAE's CNTXT AI closes $60M Series A co-led by AI71 and BlueFive Capital to scale sovereign AI infrastructure

The round is led in part by AI71, the Abu Dhabi applied-AI company that acquired founder Mohammad Abu Sheikh's previous venture and now returns as an investor, and lands weeks after CNTXT AI's acquisition of Gulf-dialect voice startup Actualize.

Jun 16, 2026

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1 min read

How Comfi raised $65M to build B2B BNPL for MENA's SMEs

The inside scoop on raising a $65 million pre-Series A from Iliad Partners, Yango, and Shorooq, and how Comfi underwrites a business in hours rather than weeks.

Jun 15, 2026

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4 min read

Ninja weighs Delivery Hero bid, Thndr eyes Saudi expansion

ex-Deliveroo Middle East head emerges from stealth with AI startup, Jordan's ISSF commits $7M to Endeavor Catalyst V, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jun 12, 2026

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6 min read

Egypt's Thndr receives initial approval for Saudi brokerage licence, targets Q1 2027 launch

The Saudi push comes as the EGX ranked Thndr the largest of its 120 brokerages by value traded in the first four months of 2026, with a 12.9% market share and $1 billion in assets under custody across its products.

Jun 12, 2026

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2 min read

Morocco's Agenz raises $5M seed co-led by Breega, Attijariwafa Ventures and Saviu to digitise property transactions

The oversubscribed round marks Paris-based Breega's first investment in Morocco and brings the corporate venture arm of North Africa's largest bank onto the cap table of a platform drawing more than 730,000 monthly visits.

Jun 11, 2026

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1 min read

Egypt's Blnk raises $37.1M in equity and debt to expand point-of-sale consumer financing

The package comprises a $12.5 million Series A led by Algebra Ventures and $24.6 million in local debt facilities, and follows the company reaching profitability in 2025 on the back of a 173% year-on-year revenue increase.

Jun 11, 2026

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1 min read

Egypt's MNT-Halan hits $1.4B valuation as Al Ahly Capital leads new round, putting the National Bank of Egypt on the cap table

Founded in 2018 by Mounir Nakhla and Ahmed Mohsen, MNT-Halan offers consumer and business lending, payments, e-wallets, savings, investments and e-commerce services, all running on Neuron, its proprietary core banking software.

Jun 11, 2026

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1 min read

Jordan's ISSF commits $7M to Endeavor Catalyst V

It’s a returning LP, having committed $2 million to Endeavor Catalyst III back in 2020, making this week's cheque a more than threefold increase on its previous publicly disclosed exposure.

Jun 11, 2026

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1 min read

Does CargoX's $250M bet on drone delivery in the Gulf make sense?

The man who rang the bell on Talabat's $10B IPO is back with a $250M warchest. We piece together what CargoX actually is, where in the delivery chain the economics genuinely work, and dig into the UAE's regulatory tailwinds.

Jun 10, 2026

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18 min read

Algebra AI emerges from stealth with $7M to bring managed AI operations to the GCC mid-market

Led by Anis Harb, former head of Deliveroo's Middle East business, the round was backed by Infinity Constellation, BECO Capital, Silicon Badia and Waseel Investments.

Jun 9, 2026

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2 min read

Saudi unicorn Ninja weighs bid for Delivery Hero's Middle East assets as HungerStation founder eyes return

Ninja, which was valued at $1.5 billion during a fundraise last year, will initially focus on HungerStation, which would be easier to integrate and face fewer regulatory obstacles.

Jun 9, 2026

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2 min read

Uber takes back Careem, SVC names new CEO

Two new $50M funds announced, ex-talabat chief to lead $250M autonomous delivery venture, Byju's founder faces Singapore jail sentence in QIA dispute, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jun 5, 2026

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6 min read

Anthropic files for IPO after $65bn round at $965B valuation as QIA and MGX both deepen Gulf stakes

The filing makes Anthropic the third major AI company to move toward a public listing in 2026, following Cerebras, which listed on the Nasdaq in May at a $70B valuation, and ahead of rival OpenAI.

Jun 5, 2026

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2 min read

Saudi Venture Capital appoints Nora Alsarhan as CEO in leadership transition after six years under founding chief Koshak

Alsarhan joined SVC in June 2019 as investment director and has since risen through CIO and deputy CEO roles, overseeing the firm's investment strategy, governance and portfolio performance.

Jun 5, 2026

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1 min read

Byju's founder faces Singapore jail sentence in QIA dispute as $22 billion edtech collapse deepens

The contempt finding relates to a $150 million loan provided by Qatar Holdings, a QIA subsidiary, to Byju's Investments, a Singapore-based entity of which Raveendran was personal guarantor.

Jun 5, 2026

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2 min read

CNTXT AI acquires Actualize to power Arabic voice agents across the GCC

Actualize develops Arabic voice models built natively for Gulf dialects with a research team drawn from Google, Nokia and Siemens.

Jun 5, 2026

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1 min read

To understand Saudi quick commerce, look to India

The Kingdom's grocery-delivery shakeout is really a fight between Amazon and Noon, one in which q-commerce is almost incidental, and its early acts have already played out in India.

Jun 4, 2026

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21 min read

Anara Impact Capital closes debut fund at $48M to back learning, climate and wellbeing startups across the Arab world

The fund is anchored by KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Commission, alongside Jordan's ISSF (Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund), Dara Holdings and a group of regional family offices and HNWIs.

Jun 3, 2026

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1 min read

Dubai's du launches $50m corporate venture fund managed by Shorooq

The mandate adds another vehicle to a rapid expansion at Shorooq, which also launched the $100 million Presight-Shorooq Fund I, in partnership with G42's ADX-listed AI arm Presight in late 2025.

Jun 3, 2026

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1 min read

Ex-talabat chief Tomaso Rodriguez to lead $250M autonomous delivery venture CargoX

The funding round, led by Abu Dhabi's BlueFive Capital, reunites Rodriguez with the delivery sector seven months after he stepped down as talabat chief executive, and follows BlueFive's record $230m seed into the Islamic digital bank Mal in January.

Jun 2, 2026

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2 min read

Prosus wins EU waiver and moves to challenge Uber's pursuit of Delivery Hero

The development introduces a new obstacle for Uber, which has built a 37% economic stake in Delivery Hero at a €12 billion valuation.

Jun 1, 2026

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1 min read

Uber takes back controlling stake in Careem as e& sells 12.5% for $100M

The transaction reduces e&'s stake from 50.03% to 37.53% and reverses the 2023 deal in which e& acquired majority control of the Careem Super App for $400 million.

Jun 1, 2026

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2 min read

Calo winds down in UK, Uber closes in on Delivery Hero

What a potential acquirer is actually buying inside Talabat and HungerStation, Uber increases its Delivery Hero stake to 37% at €12B valuation, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

May 29, 2026

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3 min read

What Uber is actually buying inside Talabat and HungerStation

Two MENA assets, HungerStation in Saudi Arabia and Talabat, account for much of what makes Delivery Hero worth roughly €12 billion to Uber.

May 29, 2026

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6 min read

Uber increases its Delivery Hero stake to 37% at €12B valuation

Uber now controls 24.99% of Delivery Hero's voting rights, positioned just below the threshold that would trigger a mandatory takeover offer under German law.

May 28, 2026

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1 min read