Weekly Highlights from Startup 3l Mashi | ستارتب على الماشي

Exploring the Heartbeat of MENA's Startup Ecosystem

Author

Maxim Hamida
March 18, 2024

Welcome to Your Weekly Dose of MENA’s Startup Ecosystem🚀✨

Ramadan Kareem to all our readers!

As we embrace the spirit of this holy month, let's not forget to feed our entrepreneurial souls with the latest buzz from the MENA startup and tech world.

Let's get into it!

Here’s What’s Sparking Interest This Week:

Weekly Funding Roundup

  • Zeroe (UAE) secures seed investment

  • Seeru (UAE) concludes pre-seed funding round

  • Zetta Technologies (KSA) closes a pre-seed round

  • Grintafy (KSA) secures funding from Chiliz

  • Kitchenara (KSA) rounds up 1.425 million SAR

  • SVC (KSA) invests $30 million in Olive Rock Partners Fund

  • ORA Technologies (MAR) secures $1.5 million in seed funding

  • Tookez (MAR) raises $1.5 million

  • 30Med (Egypt) raises pre-seed round for expansion

  • Mamun (Oman) completes first equity crowdfunding

  • Mojo (Kuwait) announces seed stage investment round

  • CarbonCapture (Regional) raises $80m from Saudi Aramco

  • Hunch (Regional) hits $23M in Series A funding

In The News

  • Saudi Arabia boosts its investment game by doubling its stake in Aramco

  • PIF-Backed Jada (KSA) Commits $266m in First Venture Debt Investment

  • iGate and الأول كابيتال | Alawwalcapital (KSA) ink a deal to fuel startups in Saudi Arabia

  • Saudi Tourism Authority locks in major deals in Germany

  • Ceer (KSA) gears up for a $1.3bn EV manufacturing venture

  • T2 (KSA) acquires Omani startup Promize

  • RasMal | راس مال (KSA) acquires Pentugram

  • Parkin's (UAE) IPO Oversubscribed 165 Times

  • MBRIF (UAE) teams up with Hope Ventures (Bahrain) for a power play in the UAE entrepreneurial scene

  • UAE sets its sights on backing bold startups in Africa

  • Salik (UAE) celebrates a revenue surge with a doubled dividend of $300m

  • Classera (Regional) expands its educational horizon by acquiring Expert Solutions

  • Mitgo Group (Canada) snaps up UAE's Embedded

Trendy, Trendy, Trendy

  • The MENA region levels up as a global mobile gaming hub

  • Exploring the venture capital landscape in the MENA

  • Islamic finance gains momentum in the MENA banking sector

  • HR trends shaping the future of work in 2024

  • Top 5 sectors stealing the spotlight at Dubai trade events

Upcoming Programs

Explore additional programs and opportunities here

Cool Events

For a comprehensive list of upcoming events and to secure your spot, visit our events page

Interesting Stuff

  • Dubai's Oatful (UAE) introduces the GCC's first high-protein overnight oats

  • The ABCs of establishing a business partnership in Dubai

  • Air taxis promise to make the Dubai-Abu Dhabi commute a breezy 30-minute

  • ImpactGulf's (UAE) G4Green platform blends AI and blockchain for sustainability

  • Barakah (KSA) takes on food waste in Saudi Arabia

  • GCC economies are flourishing with smart diversification strategies

  • Exploring the business impacts of conflict in the Middle East

  • Menna Abdel Rahman of Cairo Angels (Egypt) demystifies investor engagement

  • How Dhekra Khelifi is shaking up Tunisia's startup scene at 216 Capital

  • Women rejoining the workforce could significantly boost the MENA economy

  • VCs eye secondary markets for liquidity in 2024, not IPO

Techy Bytes

  • Reddit rolls out free business growth tools pre-IPO

  • Threads introduces draft saving and in-app photography for all

  • Telegram unveils personal-to-business account conversion, flirts with IPO as it nears 1 billion users

  • Yahsat (UAE) reports a profit leap to $116m, while Seera (KSA) profits big with a $101m Uber stake sale

  • Aramco (KSA) pioneers the world’s first industrial AI model

  • Apple calls out Epic Games as a 'threat,' and snaps up Canadian AI startup DarwinAI

  • AWS matches Google with free cloud data transfers

  • SpaceX documents Leaked

  • LinkedIn eyes the gaming realm for its next big move

  • The European Parliament adopts historic AI Act

  • TikTok gears up to take on Instagram with a new photo-sharing app

As we navigate through the days of fasting and reflection, let's also feed our minds with innovation and inspiration.

Keep striving, keep innovating, and may this month bring prosperity to your ventures 🌙✨

Until Next Time 🚀

The Startup 3l Mashi | ستارتب على الماشي Team