Hello MENA founders and entrepreneurs!

This week, the MENA startup scene has been buzzing with exciting funding rounds, impactful acquisitions, and major ecosystem developments

Let’s get started!

Fundraising Roulette

Khazna (Egypt/Fintech) raised $16M pre-series B round

qeen.ai (UAE/AI) raised a $10M seed round

Myne (UAE/Fintech) raised a $2M pre-seed round

VISARUN.AI (UAE/Visa-as-a-service) raised a $700K pre-seed round

BRKZ (KSA) raised a $17M Series A round

vminds.ai (KSA/AI) raised an undisclosed six-figure pre-seed round

Mohami (KSA/Legaltech) raised a SAR15M pre-seed round

String (KSA/Martech) raised a SAR2M pre-seed round

Rasmal Ventures (Qatar) invested in TeamSec (Turkey)

44.01 (Oman/Climatech) raised a $5M Series A round

LNKO (Morocco/D2C) raised an undisclosed round to expand across Africa

Main Headlines

Qatar Investment Authority kicked off its $1B fund of funds with an investment in Rasmal Ventures

Suhail Ventures launched a $50M venture capital fund in Saudi Arabia

UAE to invest billions in France to build one of Europe’s largest AI data centers

Digital Zone acquired by Qi in Iraq’s largest tech deal to date

SmpI Fund Invested $250K in Qora71’s portfolio companies (UAE)

SiFi (KSA) acquired Neya Technologies to simplify financial services in Saudi Arabia

Arab Palestinian Investment approved a $30M capital increase

GSMA launched an Innovation Fund to empower AI innovations in Africa

P1 Ventures closed a $50M fund to support African startups

Ecosystem Updates

Saudi Arabia kicked off LEAP Tech 2025 with 1,800 exhibitors, over 680 startups, and 14.9B$ in strategic investments and partnerships

Egypt to launch a new Startup Charter to boost its entrepreneurial ecosystem

SEF 2025 welcomed a record-setting 14,000 attendees in Sharjah

Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center partnered with 1MoreThing Ventures

MAJRA unveiled a new Impact Seal category for SMEs in UAE

Arabian Automobiles and Nissan launched Urventures to support startups in the UAE

The Station celebrated its 7th anniversary with a special event in Iraq

RAK DAO (UAE) launched a $2M Builder’s Oasis accelerator program to advance Web3 innovation

StartUp Bahrain partnered with Spring Venture

Startup Highlights

Ceer (KSA) sealed a $145M deal with Sabelt to develop EV sports seats

Yuze (UAE/Fintech) expanded to India

Penny Software (KSA) partnered with NHC to revolutionize housing procurement

Tamkeen featured 12 finalists in the 10th edition of the Mashroo3i Program in Bahrain

Egyptian entrepreneur developed a new smart clothing technology using AI tools

Open For Application

HackForSyria Hackathon | Online & Offline

NEOM Seven Senses Accelerator | KSA

Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project | Egypt

Al Sharq Youth Internship Program | Turkey

Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global | MENA

She Entrepreneurs leadership program | MENA

UN Tourism AI Challenge | Global

NextAfrica Acceleration Program | Africa

Cool Events

• E-Invoicing Exchange Summit | 10.02 Dubai

• Meet the African Startup Ecosystem | 12.02 Virtual

• Dtec masterclass on entrepreneurship | 13.02 Dubai

• Step Dubai 2025 | 18.02 Dubai

• Women In Tech Roadshow | 22.02 Beirut

• Hack For Syria | 22-28.02 Online & Offline

Techy Bytes

UAE launched the Emirates Digital Program to simplify Zakat calculators for businesses

Dubai to launch the world’s first full air taxi network by 2026

UAE formed a new space partnership to send the first Emirati astronaut to the Moon’s orbit

Arab League urged scientists to develop AI as the technology becomes dominant

Sukoon launched Sai Dubai, the first AI-powered real estate assistant in the UAE

Tunisia inaugurated the country’s first waste-to-energy unit in Sousse

Meta introduced Arabic-language Meta AI across the MENA region

Groq opened EMEA’s largest AI computing center in Saudi Arabia