Happy Friday, friends 👋 

So much for a touted March slowdown – this month has been anything but quiet, with this week in particular seeing some very interesting companies announce funding.

Second-time founder Mohammad Al Zaben, who sold his previous company MUNCH:ON to Careem in 2022, has emerged from stealth with his latest venture, ClearGrid.

This time, he’s taking on debt collection and recovery, announcing a $10M dual round with a stacked cap table featuring some big name angel investors – including Replit’s Amjad Masad, and Twitch co-founder Justin Kan.

Meanwhile, US-based fintech investing juggernaut QED – known for backing Klarna, Remitly, and Nubank – has made its first-ever GCC investment, leading NymCard’s $33M Series B.

And when I saw that both QIA and ADIA had backed two major US biotech startups this week, I had to dig into the growing trend of Gulf SWFs turning their focus to biotech.

Buckle up – there’s a lot to get through. So much, in fact, that we recommend reading it online to avoid any email cut-offs.

Enjoy this week’s edition! 👇

This week’s round-up is a 7 min read:

• 💰 ClearGrid emerges from stealth with $10M to modernise debt collection in MENA with AI

• 💳 NymCard raises $33m in Series B led by QED to scale banking infrastructure across MENA

• 📺 Dubai-based Camb.ai raises $11m to scale AI voice dubbing and video localisation

• 🧪 Gulf SWF’s are betting big on biotech with QIA and ADIA backing major US startups

• 🚗 Yango Group launches $20m VC fund to back startups across MENA, Africa, and Latin America

🚀 Startup funding round-up

NymCard (🇦🇪 UAE), a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider that enables fintechs and enterprises to launch payment solutions without dealing with traditional banking complexities, has raised $33 million in a Series B round led by QED Investors, with participation from Lunate, Dubai Future Fund, Mashreq Bank, Knollwood, Reciprocal, FJLabs, Endeavor, and Oraseya Capital.

CAMB.AI (🇦🇪 UAE), an AI-enabled voice translation and dubbing software that helps content creators localise videos by dubbing them into multiple languages, has secured a $11 million Pre-Series A funding round featuring investors such as TRTL Ventures, Accelerate Ventures, 5Point Ventures, Oraseya Capital, Courtside Ventures, Dubai Future District Fund and Comcast NBCU SportsTech.

Cleargrid (🇦🇪 UAE), a fintech aiming to help modernise debt collection and recovery with AI, is emerging from stealth with $10 million in funding ($3.5 million pre-seed and $6.5 million seed). The pre-seed round is co-led by Raed Ventures and Beco Capital, while the seed round is co-led by Nuwa Capital and Raed Ventures. More below 👇

PlaysOut (🇦🇪 UAE), a gametech startup providing platforms with a mini-games engine and SDK, has raised $7 million in a Seed round at a $70 million valuation, with investors including OKX Ventures, KBW Ventures, and Pacific Century Group.

ORO Labs (🇦🇪 UAE), a tokenised gold platform enabling users to trade and utilise gold-backed assets across financial markets, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-Seed round led by 468 Capital, with participation from Fasset and angel investors.

MENA Analytics (🇵🇸 Palestine), an analytics platform that helps enterprises collect market insights and research through survey tools and data capture solutions., has raised an undisclosed funding round from Ibtikar Fund to support its expansion into Jordan and KSA.

Grinta (🇪🇬 Egypt), a pharma marketplace providing pharmacies with access to traceable pharmaceutical and medical products, has raised an undisclosed funding round from Beltone Venture Capital and Raed Ventures. The startup has also acquired Citi Clinic, a primary healthcare service chain.

Juridoc.tn (🇹🇳 Tunisia), a legaltech startup offering AI-powered legal document automation, has raised an undisclosed investment from Go Big Partners and 216 Capital Ventures to support its expansion into the OHADA region across 17 West and Central African countries.

Premium deep-dive

Rise, fall & reinvention ↗

An honest reflection with Idriss Al Rifai on Fetchr’s hypergrowth, what went wrong, the isolation of being a founder, and the emotional cost of tying self-worth to a company, plus hard-won lessons on hiring, scaling, and the $140 billion SME financing opportunity in MENA.

Funding

💰 ClearGrid emerges from stealth with $10M to modernise debt collection in MENA with AI

💰 Dubai-based ClearGrid has emerged from stealth with $10 million in pre-seed and seed funding, aiming to modernise debt collection and recovery with AI-driven automation.

The round includes a $3.5M pre-seed co-led by RAED Ventures and BECO Capital, and a $6.5M seed round co-led by Nuwa Capital and RAED Ventures.

• Other investors include Wa’ed Ventures, KBW Ventures, Sharaka, 9yards Capital, Protagonist, BYLD, Eirad Holdings, Endeavor Catalyst, and Wamda Capital.

• Angel investors backing the startup include Anu Hariharan (Avra), Amjad Masad (Replit CEO), Jason Gardner (Marqeta founder), and Justin Kan (Twitch co-founder).

⏪ Background

Founded in 2023 by Mohammad Al Zaben, Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud, and Mohammad Al Khalili, ClearGrid was created to address a major gap in the debt collection industry, where manual processes, outdated infrastructure, and aggressive recovery tactics still dominate.

Al Zaben, who previously co-founded MUNCH:ON (acquired by Careem in 2022), first encountered the issue when managing corporate receivables at his last startup. The experience led him to explore how consumer collections—an even bigger market—could be reimagined with automation and AI.

❌ The size of the problem

Debt collection in MENA remains fragmented, with many lenders still relying on call centres, paper tracking, and basic CRM systems. Debt collection agencies (DCAs) often depend on manual outreach, leading to high costs, borrower disengagement, and lower recovery rates.

This has become more pressing as consumer and SME lending accelerate across the region. In the GCC, the consumer lending market exceeds $500 billion – driven by credit cards, personal loans, and BNPL platforms like Tabby and Tamara. At the same time, regulators in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are pushing for fairer, more compliant collection practices.

With legacy methods under strain, ClearGrid is positioning itself to fill a growing gap—offering lenders a more scalable, data-driven approach to recovery.

📖 What does the company do?

ClearGrid’s platform provides lenders with AI-powered debt resolution tools, automating the collections process while improving borrower experience.

The company integrates with banks, fintechs, and lenders via API, using AI to score repayment likelihood, predict borrower behaviour, and personalise engagement across multiple communication channels.

95% of ClearGrid’s operations are automated, including voice agents handling thousands of calls per day. The company claims it has helped major banks and fintechs increase recovery rates by 30-50% while cutting collection costs in half.

🔮 Outlook

Since launching in 2024, ClearGrid has signed 10 major fintech and banking clients in the UAE and manages hundreds of millions in debt portfolios.

A useful point of comparison for ClearGrid’s approach is Credgenics in India, which has brought modern, scalable debt resolution tools to markets where traditional collections infrastructure has lagged behind rapid digital lending growth.

The startup claims to already be profitable in the UAE and is preparing for expansion into Saudi Arabia.

With the new funding, ClearGrid plans to scale its operations, double its engineering team, and expand its AI-driven platform.

💰 VC

🌍 Dubai-based Yango Group has launched Yango Ventures, a $20 million corporate venture fund targeting early-stage startups (Seed to Series B) across MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, with a focus on O2O, B2B SaaS, and fintech. Spun out from Russia’s Yandex and now operating independently, Yango purports to be taking a hands-off, returns-focused approach, offering strategic support without seeking control.

🚀 BVS, a new venture studio, has launched in Casablanca to back high-potential Moroccan startups with a mix of capital, branding, financial structuring, and hands-on operational support. The goal is to help startups scale efficiently and expand internationally, while linking them with global investors and partners. Three ventures are already in development, with BVS betting on a lean, locally grounded model to build companies that can grow beyond Morocco.

🌍 Global investments

Gulf sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) continue to double down on biotech, with two major investments this week:

🧪 Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has participated in a $200 million seed round for Lila Sciences, a US-based AI-driven biotech company specialising in life sciences, chemistry, and material sciences. Other investors include Blue Horizon Advisors, Modi Ventures, March Capital, ARK Venture Fund, and General Catalyst.

💊 Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has participated in a $150 million Series B round for Latigo Biotherapeutics, a US-based biotech company developing non-opioid pain relief treatments. The round was led by Blue Owl Capital, with participation from Deep Track Capital, Access Biotechnology, Sanofi Ventures, and others. The funding will supports Latigo’s expansion and further research into pain treatments.

And this isn’t a one-off – SWFs like Mubadala, Oman Investment Authority, and PIF are all actively expanding into life sciences, pharma, and biomanufacturing.

🤝 Acquisitions

🏥 Grinta has acquired Citi Clinic, a well-established primary healthcare chain in Egypt, granting it access to over 150,000 patients and reinforcing its shift into patient-centric care. This move marks a strategic transition as Grinta exits its B2B pharmaceutical distribution business in Egypt to focus entirely on healthcare services. Alongside the acquisition, the company secured an undisclosed investment from Beltone Venture Capital and RAED Ventures to fuel expansion. Grinta is also growing its footprint in East Africa, particularly in Tanzania, through exports, partnerships, and a new pharmacy chain

🤖 AI

🤝 Abu Dhabi has signed a multi-year agreement with Microsoft and Core42 to implement a sovereign cloud system processing over 11 million daily government interactions.

The deal, part of Abu Dhabi’s $3.54 billion Digital Strategy for 2025-2027, aims to digitize and automate 100% of government services while integrating AI-driven solutions. The announcement coincided with UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Washington DC, where he met with U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and senior officials to discuss AI investment and strategic cooperation.

As part of the trip, Sheikh Tahnoon met with top US tech leaders – including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Satya Nadella amid ongoing discussions about the UAE’s request for preferential access to advanced AI technology. With the U.S. tightening AI chip export restrictions, Microsoft, a G42 shareholder, has called for a policy revision.

💰 VC React Podcast: Episode 28

🎧 This week on VC React, we break down Talabat’s unusual acquisition of InstaShop, a rumoured billion-dollar funding round for Saudi q-commerce outfit Ninja, and the evolution of BNPL in Saudi Arabia.

📰 Recommended Reads

• The Rippling Team. Lawsuit Alleges $12 Billion "Unicorn" Deel Cultivated Spy, Orchestrated Long-Running Trade-Secret Theft & Corporate Espionage Against Competitor

• Arnav Danthi. Behind the decision: investing in ClearGrid

• Nafez Dakkak. AI Can’t Fix Bad Learning

• Zubair Naeem Paracha. What is Tabby worth

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