Greetings MENA entrepreneurs!

Welcome to another exciting edition of our newsletter, bringing you the latest highlights from the MENA startup ecosystem

Let’s dive in!

Weekly Funding Roundup

• Comfi (UAE/Fintech) secured $5 million to expand its fintech services

• Angelspark (UAE) invested in NOOD

• Jeel (KSA/EdTech) raised $1.1 million to bolster its digital content

• Sweply (KSA/AdTech) raised SAR 7.5 million seed round to enhance ad tech

• Connect Money (Egypt/Fintech) raised $8 million to expand fintech solutions

• Alsaree3 (Iraq/Food Delivery) secured Series A funding to scale food delivery

In The News

• e& enterprise (UAE) acquired GlassHouse (Turkey)

• Mubadala (UAE) invested $250 million into Getir (Turkey)

• Smpl Holdings (UAE) introduced a $10 million fund to support tech and AI startups across MENA

• UAE implemented new regulations to regulate the crypto market

• Mumtalakat (Bahrain) funded an Italian motorsport safety product manufacturer

• Hashed VC (South Korea) expanded to Abu Dhabi

• Saudi Central Bank authorized Sulfah | سلفة (KSA) & Wadaie | ودائع (KSA) to operate under the regulatory sandbox

• Ooredoo (Qatar) signed an AI deal with Nvidia

Ecosystem Updates

• DIFC and du introduced a new entrepreneurship program in UAE

• Dubai AI Campus hosted its first Demo Day

• Tamkeen won the Bahrain Digital Content award

• Falak Investment Hub (KSA) partnered with TACT+HUB (Germany) to empower climate tech startups

• Iraqi government to launch tech incubators in universities

• Banque Misr started the third cycle of Taqaddar acceleration program

• 21 startups selected for the AIR program in Tunisia

Startup Highlights

• FinTech Galaxy (UAE) partnered with Euronet to enhance fraud detection in open banking

• Maly (UAE/FIntech) introduced a new AI-generated Visa card design feature

• GTN (Fintech/UAE) partnered with Revolut to enable bond trading

• Sulfah | سلفة (KSA/Fintech) launched its peer-to-peer financing service

• Daleel (Bahrain/Fintech) won 1st place at Startup Bahrain's 12th Pitch event

Upcoming Programs & Opportunities

• Mustaqbali Program by Sandooq Al Watan - UAE

• CyberE71 Program by Cyber71 - UAE

• ScaleSmart Program by Berytech - Lebanon

• Bootcamp for Accelerator Managers by 500 Global - Egypt

• Woman Social Entrepreneur Support Program by Rama Impact - MENA

• Bridging Start-Ups to Incubation Program by DisruptX - EMEA

• THRIVE Global Impact Challenge - Agritech/Global

• Apply to AngelSpark for angel funding

Must Attend Events This Week

• Angelspark Live Startup Pitch Event - 01 July, Dubai

• StartMashreq Demo Day - 01 July, Amman

• AUC Venture Lab Spring'24 Demo Day - 02 July, Cairo

• Shaping the Future of AI Governance - 03 July, Dubai

• Investment and Growth: Strategies for Startups - 03 July, Riyadh

• Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards 2024 - 04 July, Cairo

• Ahli Fintech Accelerator Wave 2 Demo Day - 06 July, Amman

Interesting Stuff

• Saudi Startup Ecosystem: Exploring the growth and innovation in Saudi Arabia's startup scene

• Saudi brands cash in on Gaza boycott, leading to a surge in the food market

• UAE becoming the desired destination for millionaires seeking new opportunities

• Six Arab entrepreneurs who left their jobs at Uber and Careem to launch successful startups

• Building success from scratch: Insights into how startup studios create successful projects from the ground up

• Podcast: The First 100 with Karim Helal, founder of ProTenders (UAE/ConTech), discussing his journey and success

Techy Bytes

• Google introduced its Gemini AI to Gmail, added 110 new languages to Google Translate, and incorporated AI insights into Google Analytics

• OpenAI acquired a remote collaboration platform and a company specializing in AI-driven automation solutions

• Figma launched a redesigned platform with AI-powered features

• PayPal lost six million active users in a Year

• Quantum Computing Takes Off With $55 Billion In Global Investments

• Quantum Computing soars with $55 Billion in global investments