Weekly round-up

etisalat marks Careem at half Uber’s price, Silkhaus winds down UAE rentals

Oct 30, 2026

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6 min read

etisalat marks Careem at half Uber’s price, Silkhaus winds down UAE rentals

Saudi overtakes the UAE as Delivery Hero’s biggest MENA market, BY Venture Partners closes $60M third fund, AdalFi plans Pakistan’s first fintech listing, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Robinhood heads for Dubai, Saudi regulator wants VC funds to show their exits

Oct 23, 2026

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6 min read

Robinhood heads for Dubai, Saudi regulator wants VC funds to show their exits

FII pushed to 2027 as security concerns mount, Snoonu buys YC-backed BiteSight in its first international acquisition, General Atlantic eyes a $10B IPO, plus this week’s MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

SoftBank courts Gulf for $100B fund, YoLa Fresh shuts down

Oct 16, 2026

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6 min read

SoftBank courts Gulf for $100B fund, YoLa Fresh shuts down

Oraseya Capital doubles its fund to $272M, Phoenix Venture Partners closes debut fundraise at $23M, MNT-Halan’s IPO book is 11x oversubscribed ,plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

UAE funds circle OpenAI at $1.4T, NEOPAY buys 65% of noon payments

Oct 9, 2026

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7 min read

UAE funds circle OpenAI at $1.4T, NEOPAY buys 65% of noon payments

MNT-Halan prices its IPO, Saudi AI company Echelon emerges with RAED and Horowitz backing, Endeavor closes $320M fifth fund, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

MNT-Halan nears IPO, erad raises $22M Series A

Oct 2, 2026

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6 min read

MNT-Halan nears IPO, erad raises $22M Series A

Shorooq and Presight back Lebanese-founded Maven Robotics, erad raises $22M for Saudi SME financing, and Temasek plans Riyadh and Abu Dhabi offices, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Paymob’s Gulf shift, Huspy doubles down on Europe

Sep 25, 2026

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7 min read

Paymob’s Gulf shift, Huspy doubles down on Europe

PhonePe moves towards a UAE launch, MASNA seeks a bigger defence-tech fund, and Saudi Arabia’s mBridge exit comes to light, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Saudi's new unicorn, Tabby hits $6.5B valuation

Sep 18, 2026

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7 min read

Saudi's new unicorn, Tabby hits $6.5B valuation

MNT-Halan wins EGX approval ahead of Cairo listing, SILQ launches $133M direct financing fund for Saudi SMEs, Mubadala co-leads Crusoe's $3.9B round at $30.9B, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Egypt-born founder's Clay hits $7.1B valuation, HUMAIN eyes IPO

Sep 11, 2026

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6 min read

Egypt-born founder's Clay hits $7.1B valuation, HUMAIN eyes IPO

PayTabs agrees $100M-plus deal for Amazon Payment Services MENA, UAE leads Boring Company's $3B round, inside Abhi's IPO and the gold book behind it, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

HUMAIN's $10B VC fund could grow larger, Keeta turns profitable in Saudi

Sep 4, 2026

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9 min read

HUMAIN's $10B VC fund could grow larger, Keeta turns profitable in Saudi

COFE closes $43M pre-IPO round targeting 2029 Saudi listing, Nvidia in early talks with Wa'ed-backed chip startup Rebellions, Adam Neumann's Flow enters the UAE, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Fasset joins the unicorn club, Builder.ai founder resurfaces in Dubai

Aug 28, 2026

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5 min read

Fasset joins the unicorn club, Builder.ai founder resurfaces in Dubai

Swvl secures $14.5M led by Sawiris-backed Coefficient as it targets US expansion, Talabat generated 94% of Delivery Hero's MENA profit, Ventures Platform closes $84M pan-African fund, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

What VNV's marks imply for Breadfast and Baly, new Saudi growth fund

Aug 21, 2026

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4 min read

What VNV's marks imply for Breadfast and Baly, new Saudi growth fund

HeyBreez raises $2.5M seed led by Lunara Partners, Saudi edtech AILA raises $3M pre-Series A, Exits MENA acquires Avanz Capital Egypt, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Tabby and Tamara diverge in Saudi, CMA probes the Kingdom's IPO flops

Aug 14, 2026

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7 min read

Tabby and Tamara diverge in Saudi, CMA probes the Kingdom's IPO flops

Talabat raises full-year guidance as non-GCC markets surge, Anghami co-founder Eddy Maroun launches $100M Arabic music IP fund, qlub wins in-principle UAE payments approval, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Mubadala makes Moove a unicorn, Careem hands Uber a widening loss

Aug 7, 2026

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6 min read

Mubadala makes Moove a unicorn, Careem hands Uber a widening loss

Tamara lands Saudi Arabia's first BNPL investment-grade rating, PIF-owned HUMAIN invests in MOZN, Beltone exits Egyptian proptech BirdNest at 3.5x, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

UAE credit files add Tabby and Tamara, Abhi eyes Karachi listing

Jul 31, 2026

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7 min read

UAE credit files add Tabby and Tamara, Abhi eyes Karachi listing

Brookfield buys Jordanian founder Moe Hajabed's Aypa Power for $7B, SILQ secures $75M debt facility from Fasanara, Abhi plans $11M Karachi listing, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Uber gets Delivery Hero, Tabby pushes beyond BNPL

Jul 17, 2026

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5 min read

Uber gets Delivery Hero, Tabby pushes beyond BNPL

Vercel acquires Egyptian-born DevOps agent startup Stakpak, Revolut wins in-principle crypto approval from Dubai's VARA, Saudi AI infrastructure startup Think raises $8M pre-Seed, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

BlueFive backs Kling AI's $3B round, Amazon Now enters Egypt

Jul 10, 2026

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5 min read

BlueFive backs Kling AI's $3B round, Amazon Now enters Egypt

Keyper raises $11M Series A led by Speedinvest, Jordan's ISSF brings STV's Google-backed AI Fund, edtech Noon Academy acquires Almakhf, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

OSN moves to take Anghami private, Tabby lands SAMA licences

Jul 3, 2026

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5 min read

OSN moves to take Anghami private, Tabby lands SAMA licences

1001 raises $30M Series A led by Lux Capital, Catalyst Fund reaches $30M for debut pan-African climate fund, Beehive acquires Saudi debt crowdfunding platform Themar, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up.

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

PayPal Ventures winds down, Revolut hits a wall in Morocco

Jun 26, 2026

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6 min read

PayPal Ventures winds down, Revolut hits a wall in Morocco

MNT-Halan weighs $1B Cairo IPO, Oman's Phaze Ventures backs AI fundraising startup from Airlift founder Usman Gul, MGX raises $50B AI fund, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Revolut nears UAE launch, Lean debuts Pay by Bank

Jun 19, 2026

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5 min read

Revolut nears UAE launch, Lean debuts Pay by Bank

Ninja lines up banks for Delivery Hero bid, UAE AI startup closes $60M Series A to scale sovereign AI infrastructure, Alaan launches AI-native business bank account, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Ninja weighs Delivery Hero bid, Thndr eyes Saudi expansion

Jun 12, 2026

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6 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

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Uber takes back Careem, SVC names new CEO

Jun 5, 2026

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6 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

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

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

May 29, 2026

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3 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

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Noon may cut staff 50%, Fresha is a unicorn

May 22, 2026

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6 min read

Noon may cut staff 50%, Fresha is a unicorn

A new $70M growth fund for Jordanian tech startups, Uber emerges as Delivery Hero's largest shareholder, RemotePass raises $17.4M Series B, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

May 15, 2026

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7 min read

a16z's first GCC bet, Breadfast layoffs

Tabby and Tamara's surprising Q1 2026 results, Qatar launches new $30M deep tech venture fund, Delivery Hero CEO to step down under activist pressure, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane

Weekly round-up

Tech layoffs hit MENA, Careem pulls back

May 8, 2026

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5 min read

Tech layoffs hit MENA, Careem pulls back

Mubadala leads $15M Series A for UAE embedded finance startup, Moroccan founders raise $5.5M pre-Seed from Balderton, Lean expands Pay By Bank across UAE, plus this week's MENA startup, VC, and tech news round-up

Jamie Lane