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Funding

Oman

+4

Oman's Phaze Ventures backs Metal, the AI fundraising startup from Airlift founder Usman Gul

Jun 23, 2026

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2 min read

Oman's Phaze Ventures backs Metal, the AI fundraising startup from Airlift founder Usman Gul

Metal sells software to help founders run the fundraising process, built by Usman Gul, whose previous company, the grocery-delivery startup Airlift, raised Pakistan's largest-ever round before collapsing in 2022.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Sovra raises $2M+ pre-seed led by Pharsalus Capital to build a self-custodial dollar account for MENA

Jun 18, 2026

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1 min read

Sovra raises $2M+ pre-seed led by Pharsalus Capital to build a self-custodial dollar account for MENA

The round drew angel cheques from the likes of Ramp founder Karim Atiyeh and Lean Technologies founder Hisham Al-Falih, backing a platform that holds user balances in USDC outside the conventional banking system.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Startups

+4

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

Jun 16, 2026

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1 min read

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.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Morocco

+3

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

Jun 11, 2026

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1 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.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

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

Jun 11, 2026

•

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.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Startups

+4

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

Jun 2, 2026

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2 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.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

SaaS

+3

UAE-founded Fresha reaches unicorn status with $80M KKR investment as beauty platform hits $15B in annual transactions

May 22, 2026

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2 min read

UAE-founded Fresha reaches unicorn status with $80M KKR investment as beauty platform hits $15B in annual transactions

Founded by William Zeqiri and Nicholas Miller, Fresha provides booking, payments, point-of-sale, marketing and business management tools to over 130,000 beauty and wellness businesses across 120 countries.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Startups

+4

RemotePass raises $17.4M Series B led by EBRD as global employment platform expands into Europe and the US

May 20, 2026

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1 min read

RemotePass raises $17.4M Series B led by EBRD as global employment platform expands into Europe and the US

Founded in late 2020 by Kamal Reggad and Karim Nadi, RemotePass enables businesses to onboard, manage and pay employees and contractors in more than 150 countries.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Foodtech

+3

Dubai's Peekabox raises $1.5m Seed round to sell surplus food from major F&B brands

May 18, 2026

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1 min read

Dubai's Peekabox raises $1.5m Seed round to sell surplus food from major F&B brands

The company has signed partnerships with 20 brands whose combined UAE store network exceeds 1,000 locations, including Carrefour, Costa Coffee, Tim Hortons, Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, and Paul.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Startups

+4

Saudi-based Aumet raises $12M Series A led by Emkan Capital to scale AI procurement platform

May 15, 2026

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1 min read

Saudi-based Aumet raises $12M Series A led by Emkan Capital to scale AI procurement platform

The platform processes over $1B in GMV annually, connecting over 12,000 pharmacies across Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia with more than 1,000 pharmaceutical suppliers.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Startups

+4

TruKKer secures up to $300M facility from ADCB as digital freight network unlocks institutional bank financing

May 15, 2026

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1 min read

TruKKer secures up to $300M facility from ADCB as digital freight network unlocks institutional bank financing

Founded in 2016 by Gaurav Biswas, TruKKer connects more than 60,000 transporters with over 1,200 enterprise clients across 40 countries.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Stream raises $5.2M seed extension led by BECO Capital, bringing total seed funding to $9.2M in under six months

May 15, 2026

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1 min read

Stream raises $5.2M seed extension led by BECO Capital, bringing total seed funding to $9.2M in under six months

The fintech company builds billing and payments infrastructure that consolidates invoicing, recurring payments, reconciliation and cash flow tracking into a single platform.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Saudi fintech Stitch raises $25M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in the firm's first GCC investment

May 14, 2026

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1 min read

Saudi fintech Stitch raises $25M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in the firm's first GCC investment

The round brings Stitch's total funding to $35 million as the Riyadh-based financial infrastructure platform reports $5 billion transacted in the past six months.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Morocco

+5

Moroccan founders raise $5.5m pre-seed from Heartcore and Balderton for AI platform compressing real estate development timelines

May 8, 2026

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1 min read

Moroccan founders raise $5.5m pre-seed from Heartcore and Balderton for AI platform compressing real estate development timelines

Founded by Mehdi Rais and Amine Chraibi, who met through Entrepreneur First's Bridge programme in Germany and became one of the fastest teams in EF's history to receive IC approval.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

E-Commerce

+4

Bahrain's Siin raises $3m as live commerce format gains early traction across GCC

May 8, 2026

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1 min read

Bahrain's Siin raises $3m as live commerce format gains early traction across GCC

Founded in 2024, the platform enables users to buy and sell high-value goods through real-time live-streamed and gamified shopping experiences.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Startups

+4

Saudi early-stage VC Khwarizmi Ventures closes Fund II first close at $70M

May 8, 2026

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1 min read

Saudi early-stage VC Khwarizmi Ventures closes Fund II first close at $70M

Fund II will invest $1 million to $5 million initial cheques into seed and Series A startups across the GCC, up from the $500,000 to $2 million range in Fund I.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Mubadala leads $15m Series A for UAE embedded finance lender CredibleX

May 6, 2026

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2 min read

Mubadala leads $15m Series A for UAE embedded finance lender CredibleX

Founded in 2023 by Anand Nagaraj, Ahmad Malik and Hassan Reda, CredibleX is an ADGM-regulated lender that provides SMEs with working capital through revenue-based financing, receivables financing and payable financing via an embedded, API-enabled platform.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Contech

+3

Saudi's BRKZ lands investment from SIDF's investment arm as supply chain platform eyes cloud manufacturing

Apr 29, 2026

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1 min read

Saudi's BRKZ lands investment from SIDF's investment arm as supply chain platform eyes cloud manufacturing

The investment will accelerate BRKZ's evolution from a procurement digitisation platform into what the company calls cloud manufacturing.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Dubai's Comfi raises $65M pre-Series A in equity and debt to scale B2B buy now, pay later across MENA

Apr 27, 2026

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1 min read

Dubai's Comfi raises $65M pre-Series A in equity and debt to scale B2B buy now, pay later across MENA

The company offers a B2B buy now, pay later product that allows SME suppliers to provide up to 90-day payment terms to their business customers while receiving payment themselves within 24 hours.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Foodtech

+4

Bahrain's Lola raises $3M seed to bring cake production in-house as custom orders scale across GCC

Apr 27, 2026

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1 min read

Bahrain's Lola raises $3M seed to bring cake production in-house as custom orders scale across GCC

Founded in September 2023 by Othman Janahi, Lola enables users to design and order fully customised cakes through a mobile app in under a minute, choosing from thousands of designs, colours and combinations.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Jordan

+5

Jordan's Tamatem acquires Istanbul's Playable Factory, discloses $10M funding round

Apr 24, 2026

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2 min read

Jordan's Tamatem acquires Istanbul's Playable Factory, discloses $10M funding round

The acquisition integrates ad tech into what was previously a content, distribution and payments business, moving Tamatem toward controlling the full stack from game localisation through to player acquisition and monetisation.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

SaaS

+3

Signit raises $15m Series A to build AI-powered contract management for Saudi government and enterprise

Apr 20, 2026

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1 min read

Signit raises $15m Series A to build AI-powered contract management for Saudi government and enterprise

Founded in 2021 by Mohamed El Abbouri, the company built its initial business around a digital signature platform designed specifically for the Saudi market.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

E-Commerce

+4

Saudi fashion startup Aya raises $7m Series A led by RAED Ventures as demand-driven abaya model draws PIF's Sanabil

Apr 16, 2026

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1 min read

Saudi fashion startup Aya raises $7m Series A led by RAED Ventures as demand-driven abaya model draws PIF's Sanabil

Aya was founded in 2024 by Munira Al Kadi (CEO) and Abdulrahman Al Ammar, who both previously worked together at Soum, the Saudi second-hand electronics and used goods marketplace.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Startups

+5

Golden Gate Ventures backs $2B AI infrastructure firm Invisible Technologies as it targets GCC enterprise deployments

Apr 13, 2026

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4 min read

Golden Gate Ventures backs $2B AI infrastructure firm Invisible Technologies as it targets GCC enterprise deployments

Invisible, founded in 2015, claims to have trained data and models for more than 80% of the world's leading foundation model labs and counts Microsoft, AWS and Cohere among its enterprise clients.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Egypt's Lucky raises $23m Series B to scale consumer credit and expand into North Africa

Apr 7, 2026

•

3 min read

Egypt's Lucky raises $23m Series B to scale consumer credit and expand into North Africa

The new capital will fund expansion of its credit product suite, entry into select North African markets and infrastructure investment.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane
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