News
Funding
+4
Feb 2, 2026
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3 min read
Shorooq launches $200m late-stage growth fund backed by QIA
The fund is backed by Qatar Investment Authority alongside other sovereign and institutional investors from the GCC and Asia, with the launch announced at Web Summit Qatar.
News
+2
Feb 2, 2026
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4 min read
Qatar's fund-of-funds backs five new global VC firms
The funds are Greycroft, Ion Pacific, Liberty City Ventures, Shorooq, and Speedinvest, all of which are establishing offices in Doha, QIA said in a statement.
News
+2
Feb 2, 2026
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3 min read
Qatar to double venture fund-of-funds to $2B, unveils 10-year residency for founders
The expansion builds on Qatar’s existing $1 billion Fund of Funds, launched in February 2024 to attract international venture firms to Doha and channel capital into local and regional startups.
Fintech
+4
Jan 29, 2026
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2 min read
PayLater secures $10M seed in one of Qatar’s largest early-stage fintech rounds
The round was led by LuLu Alternative Investments, with strategic participation from Qatar Development Bank and KBN Holding, alongside a group of angel investors.
Morocco
+4
Jan 28, 2026
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3 min read
Yakeey raises $15M in Morocco’s largest proptech Series A to date
The round was backed by Enza Capital, alongside the International Finance Corporation, Egypt’s Beltone Venture Capital, and Morocco’s state-backed CDG Invest.
Startups
+4
Jan 27, 2026
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4 min read
Property Finder secures $170M in new funding led by Mubadala and BECO Capital
The round follows $525 million invested in 2025 by funds advised by Permira, with significant participation from Blackstone Growth.
Startups
+4
Jan 27, 2026
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2 min read
Dubai-based Mantas raises $1.77M Seed to tackle cloud downtime risk with parametric insurance
The round includes participation from Nuwa Capital, Suhail Ventures, Plus VC, OQAL Angel Syndicate, and a group of angel investors.
Fintech
+4
Jan 26, 2026
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2 min read
Vennre raises $9.6M pre-Series A to expand private market access in Saudi Arabia
Backed by Vision Ventures and anb seed Fund, the wealth creation platform targets the region’s HENRY segment with curated private equity, real estate, and Sharia-compliant investment access.
Jordan
+5
Jan 26, 2026
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2 min read
Jordanian edtech Abwaab acquires Apex to scale elite college admissions across the Middle East
The deal adds Oxford, Ivy League, and top US admissions expertise to Abwaab’s growing education ecosystem.
News
+2
Jan 23, 2026
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3 min read
OpenAI courts Middle East investors for potential $50B mega-round as Sam Altman meets Abu Dhabi-backed funds
The talks are preliminary, but OpenAI is said to be exploring a raise of $50 billion or more at a valuation in the range of $750 billion to $830 billion.
Startups
+5
Jan 22, 2026
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3 min read
Applied AI raises pre-Series B from Mubadala and Arbor Ventures to scale enterprise workflow platform
The investment comes just months after Applied AI raised a $55 million Series A at a reported $300 million pre-money valuation in February 2025.
Jordan
+4
Jan 22, 2026
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4 min read
Breez AI raises $1.3M pre-seed to build enterprise grade voice AI infrastructure
The round was led by Wamda Capital and anchored by early supporter FENA Holdings alongside DASH Ventures, with participation from a group of strategic angel investors.
Jordan
+3
Jan 21, 2026
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3 min read
Jordanian founder Mo Gharbat’s Open raises $7M co-led by Y Combinator to scale AI-native enterprise support across the GCC
The round was led by Y Combinator and X by Unifonic, with participation from Shorooq and Sadu Capital. Open is part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 batch and is incorporated in Delaware.
Agritech
+4
Jan 21, 2026
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4 min read
Grove raises $5M seed to build vertically integrated fresh-produce supply chain in Saudi Arabia
Founded in 2024 by Mohammed bin Ghanam and Ayman AlFifi, Grove operates as a consumer-facing fresh-produce brand built on a vertically coordinated, technology-enabled supply chain
Fintech
+4
Jan 16, 2026
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2 min read
Flooss secures $22M Shorooq-backed credit facility in Bahrain’s first private asset-backed fintech financing
The credit facility builds on Flooss’s earlier equity funding. In its 2025 end-of-year letter, MEVP revealed it participated in a $2 million seed round for Flooss during the year.
Startups
+3
Jan 15, 2026
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3 min read
Arabic.AI partners with Amjad Masad’s Replit to launch free, fully localised Arabic coding courses across MENA
The initiative marks the first full localisation of Replit’s educational content into Arabic, giving students, engineers, and aspiring developers access to hands-on, production-ready software development courses without language barriers.
Startups
+4
Jan 14, 2026
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2 min read
Governata raises $4M seed to build Saudi Arabia’s first Arabic-first, AI-ready data governance platform
The round was led by Vision Ventures, with participation from Mashhoor Aldubayan, Mazen Aldarrab, and Abdulla Nadeem Elyas.
Startups
+4
Jan 13, 2026
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2 min read
Saudi-based Madeed raises $400K as Eight Sleep exit founder Adam Bataineh launches preventative health and longevity platform
The round was led by Vision Ventures, with participation from Mashhoor Aldubayan, Mazen Aldarrab, and Abdulla Nadeem Elyas.
Fintech
+5
Jan 13, 2026
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3 min read
Abdallah Abu-Sheikh’s Mal, raises $230M in largest Seed round in MENA for AI-powered Islamic finance platform
The round was led by BlueFive Capital, which manages more than $4 billion in assets, with participation from strategic investors and family offices.
Startups
+3
Jan 9, 2026
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2 min read
MEVP’s annual letter discloses a number of unannounced funding rounds, including for Stake, Ziina, and MealPlanet
In 2025, MEVP deployed $18.1 million across eight new investments and two follow-on rounds.
Oman
+3
Jan 9, 2026
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2 min read
eMushrif raises $7.5M to scale school transport platform across the Gulf
Led by Jasoor Ventures, the round backs eMushrif’s expansion into Saudi Arabia and the UAE, building on its traction across Oman and Kuwait where the platform now supports school transportation for more than 120k students in public and private schools.
Fintech
+3
Jan 9, 2026
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3 min read
Revolut continues UAE hiring spree, as it eyes acquisition of neobank FUPS in Turkey
The London-headquartered fintech is advertising new roles across compliance, risk, and senior commercial leadership, including a Head of Marketing and Growth.
