Hey MENA entrepreneurs!

We're back with another edition of your ultimate guide to the latest in the MENA startup world.

Let’s dive in!

Weekly Funding Roundup

• SiFi (KSA/Fintech) closed a $10 million seed round

• Tahdir (KSA/EdTech) closed a SAR1.15 million pre-seed round

• Stake (UAE/Proptech) closed a $14 million Series A round

• qeen.ai (UAE/AI) closed a $2.2 million pre-seed round

• Elevate (UAE/Fintech) secured $5 million in a pre-series round

• Sahl (Egypt/Fintech) closed dual rounds totaling $6 million

• BonLili (Iraq/Beauty) raised a pre-seed round

• Flat6labs invested in Yamm (KSA/Fintech)

• Mubadala invested in Storyblok

In The News

• MENA startups raised $282M in May

• Dubai revised cryptocurrency regulations

• Abu Dhabi introduced a unified economic license

• Qatar launched Fintech Express Sandbox

• Rasmal Ventures (Qatar) introduced a $100M fund

• Saudi Arabia launched the National Semiconductor Hub

• 127 international companies relocated to Saudi Arabia in Q1 2024

Ecosystem Updates

• Flat6Labs welcomed its first cohort in Morocco

• Playbook and Bahrain FinTech Bay promoted diversity in FinTech

• Standard Chartered selected10 startups for the SC Women in Tech

• UAE Winners of the 2024 Entrepreneurship World Cup announced

• MBRIF introduced its latest cohort of innovators

• Winners of Make It in the Emirates Pitch Competition announced

Startup Highlights

• MoneyLoop (KSA/Fintech) won the Visa Everywhere Initiative

• Wazen (KSA/Fintech) won first place at the Creativity Makers Forum 2024

• amplifAI (KSA/Healthtech) picked for Google's AI for Health

• Tunisian team selected as a finalist for Young Inventors Prize

• Tumodo (UAE) partnered with Tabby (KSA)

• OneClickDrive (UAE/Mobility) expanded to Morocco

• Mal Bazaar (Egypt/Fintech) acquired a brokerage license

Upcoming Programs & Opportunities

• GEN AI Hackathon on 20-22/6/2024 in Ramallah

• Flat6labs Riyadh, Amman, and StartMashreq programs

• Berytech’s IdeaLab, Lebanon Innovate, and ScaleSmart

• Virtual Accelerate Acceleration Program in Aleppo & Damascus

• Ma’an Social Incubator (UAE)

• BLDR’s Pre-Seed Launchpad (Virtual)

• ASYAD Accelerator Program (Oman)

Must Attend Events This Week

• QDB Incubation and Acceleration Demo Day - 10 June, Doha

• The Garage+ Demo Day - 10 June, Riyadh

• Decentralization: A Catalyst for Lebanon's Progress - 11 June, Virtual

• Dubai AI Retreat - 11 June, Dubai

• Mastercard Fintech Forum - 11 June, Morocco

• FITA2024 - 11/12 June, Tunis

• Content Marketing Workshop by In5 - 12 June, Dubai

Interesting Stuff

• Now you can invest in Lebanese startups for as little as $50

• 10 thriving Egyptian brands amid boycott campaigns

• Exploring Private Debt in Emerging Markets

• Why space mining is the next big thing

• Report: Mena Tech 2024

Techy Bytes

• Haltia.AI (UAE) unveiled the KNOW ontology

• Saudi introduced Nusuk Wallet for Haj and Umrah pilgrims

• OpenAI Launched ChatGPT Edu and signed a Billion-dollar deal with Microsoft

• Microsoft launched Build with AI for startup founders

• Huawei Cloud expands with New Cairo Region and Arabic Language Model

• Cisco launched a $1 billion AI fund