Startups
Morocco
+5
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.
Startups
+4
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.
Jordan
+5
May 7, 2026
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1 min read
Careem makes sweeping layoffs across multiple markets, closes Berlin office
The cuts span the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan and Germany, with Careem yet to publicly acknowledge them.
Results
+5
Apr 29, 2026
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20 min read
Inside Tamara's Books
What 40 pages of audited financial statements reveal about how Saudi's first homegrown fintech unicorn rebuilt its revenue model, underwrites a lending book it didn't have twelve months ago, funds it all at rates its nearest competitor can't match, and prepares for what comes next.
Fintech
+4
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.
Foodtech
+4
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.
Jordan
+5
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.
Startups
+3
Apr 20, 2026
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2 min read
Saudi grocery delivery platform Nana enters financial reorganisation after raising over $200M from Kingdom Holding, STV and others
The financial reorganisation comes as Saudi Arabia's delivery and quick commerce market has become one of the most competitive in the world.
SaaS
+3
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.
Startups
+4
Apr 17, 2026
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1 min read
Egyptian cybersecurity startup Raspire joins Y Combinator with no-code runtime protection platform
Raspire's platform allows engineering teams to add runtime protection to their applications without requiring complex integrations, specialised security teams or changes that slow down release cycles.
Fintech
+3
Apr 16, 2026
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1 min read
Tabby secures UAE wallet licence, extending financial services push into its second core market
The BNPL unicorn has cleared the regulatory hurdle to hold customer funds and roll out a broader suite of financial products in the Emirates, including spending accounts, cards, and money management tools.
Startups
+5
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.
Algeria
+4
Apr 10, 2026
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2 min read
Algerian founder Ines Boutemadja becomes the first Algerian woman in Y Combinator with AI insurance startup Klaimee
The company audits AI agents' architecture, processes and failure modes, then backs them with AI-specific liability coverage through a self-service platform aimed at startups deploying AI agents to enterprise clients.
Fintech
+3
Apr 8, 2026
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4 min read
Nubank to establish headquarters at ADGM as Latin America's largest digital bank eyes MENA expansion
The ADGM base will be set up in collaboration with leading Abu Dhabi investment, economic and financial institutions, including integrated digital banking platform Wio Bank.
Fintech
+4
Apr 7, 2026
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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.
Startups
+3
Apr 2, 2026
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3 min read
Tunisian co-founders Rihab Lajmi and Badis Zormati join Y Combinator with AI recruitment startup Asendia
The pair say they’re the first Tunisian founders to join YC, with Lajmi the first Tunisian woman to be accepted into the programme.
Startups
+5
Mar 31, 2026
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4 min read
Egyptian-American founder Will Ahmed's Whoop raises $575m at $10.1bn valuation with QIA, Mubadala and 2PointZero all participating
Whoop now has over 2.5 million members globally, was cash flow positive in 2025 and doubled bookings year on year to a $1.1 billion run rate.
Results
+4
Mar 30, 2026
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3 min read
Exclusive: Tabby's Saudi arm posts $55 million profit on $378 million revenue in first audited annual accounts
The numbers land at a moment when Tabby is widely understood to be preparing for a Tadawul listing, with reports that HSBC, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are advising on a potential flotation.
