Happy Friday! We feel like we spent as much time crawling through traffic in the back of taxis around Dubai Harbour and the World Trade Centre this week as I did actually attending the shows. But traffic frustrations aside, it was great to catch up with friends, both old and new, in person.

As expected, it’s been a busy week for announcements, though surprisingly quiet on the startup funding front. That said, based on the conversations we had, it shouldn’t stay that way for long.

Enjoy this week’s edition 👇

This week’s round-up is a 6 min read:

• 💸 SVC invests $15 million in Vision Ventures' $90 million Saqr Fund II

• 🛴 Rabbit Mobility raises $1.3 million to expand its electric mobility platform

• 💰 MENAP fintech Abhi secures $15 million debt financing led by Shorooq Partners, Amplify Growth Partnership

• 🚕 Ride-hailing unicorn Bolt enters UAE market with Dubai Taxi partnership

• 🔈 Catch-up on Episode 14 of the VC React Podcast

🚀 Startup funding round-up

PiP World (🇦🇪 UAE), a web3 gaming and edtech startup offering a gamified financial literacy app, has secured $10 million in seed funding from Exinity. Notably, both the startup and investor share the same leadership team.

Rabbit Mobility (🇪🇬 Egypt), a micro-mobility platform for short-distance transport using electric scooters and bikes, has raised $1.3 million in an investment round led by 500 Global and Untapped Global, with participation from a group of angel investors.

AILA (🇸🇦 KSA), an AI-powered edtech platform offering personalized, curriculum-aligned daily education experiences, has closed a $1.15 million pre-Seed round led by Sabah Hub, with participation from White Hill Capital and three Saudi-based angel investors.

Jaras (🇸🇦 KSA), a platform providing integrated hospitality management solutions to enhance bookings and guest experiences, has closed a $666k pre-seed round, led by undisclosed angel investors.

Agenz (🇲🇦 Morocco), a proptech using advanced data intelligence to provide instant property valuations, has received an undisclosed investment from Renew Capital.

Wellpal (🇪🇬 Egypt), an e-commerce platform focused on health and wellness products, has relocated its operations to Saudi after securing fresh funding from an undisclosed angel investor.

VC

💸 SVC invests $15 million in Vision Ventures' $90 million Saqr Fund II, targeting pre-Seed to Pre-Series B startups across MENA

💸 Saudi Venture Capital (SVC), a Saudi government-backed fund of funds, has invested $15 million into Vision Ventures' Saqr Fund II, marking their second time as an anchor investor in a Vision Ventures fund.

• Launched in 2022, Saqr Fund II is targeting $90 million to support early-stage startups, ranging from pre-seed to pre-Series B. The fund takes a sector-agnostic approach, investing across various industries in Saudi Arabia and MENA.

• Notable investments from Fund II include Faceki, Rewaa, NearPay, and Ejari, with Vision Ventures leading NearPay’s $3.6 million pre-Series A and participating in Rewaa’s $27 million Series A and Ejari’s $14.65 million seed round.

💰 Investor low-down: Founded in 2016 by Haitham BuAisha and Kais Al-Essa, Vision Ventures has a strong track record in early-stage tech investments. Before launching their first GP/LP fund in 2018, the duo initially invested from their own balance sheet. SVC's $15 million investment supports its mission to catalyse venture capital activity and ease the fundraising process for Saudi-based high-growth startups.

⚙️ Breaking it down

Vision Ventures' first fund, which backed 43 startups, was approximately $25 million — about one-third the size of Saqr Fund II. Notable early investments from this fund include Salla, Rain, The Chefz, and Gathern.

Earlier this year, Vision Ventures exited part of its stake in Salla, generating an impressive 225x return. The stake was sold as part of a secondary transaction during Salla’s pre-IPO $130 million round, led by Investcorp and Sanabil Investments. Vision Ventures first invested in Salla during its seed round in 2018.

🔮 Flashforward

The larger fund size and its wide-stage focus will enable Vision Ventures to conserve capital for follow-on investments, allowing them to continue backing promising startups from their early stages as they scale towards growth.

💰 Investments round-up

🇵🇰 Abhi has secured $15 million in credit financing from Shorooq Partners and Amplify Growth Partnership to scale its operations and expand its Earned Wage Access (EWA) services across the MENAP region. With both investors having recently launched $100 million venture debt funds, they worked closely together to structure a solution for Abhi. This funding will enable Abhi to further its mission of financial inclusion, supporting both blue- and white-collar workers. To date, Abhi has facilitated approximately $55 million in EWA through 545,000 transactions in the UAE.

🇪🇬 Egypt-based DisrupTech Ventures is exploring the launch of a new $70 million investment fund by 2026 to support startups. Co-founder and Managing Partner Mohamed Okasha told Asharq Business that the firm plans to allocate $16 million to fintech investments over the next 18 months, with feasibilities underway for 7 to 8 companies. The new fund will be launched after the closure of their current $36 million fund, with the specific sectors of investment still undecided. Founded in 2021, DisrupTech focuses on providing Seed capital, particularly to fintech startups.

🇪🇸 Spain-based Moonbase Capital has launched a $15 million fund to invest in SMEs, focusing on the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Led by Tamer El Bahay and Tarek El Gammal, the fund aims to invest in 15 SMEs over the next three to four years. Fundraising, expected to conclude by Q1 2025, will source capital from family offices and high-net-worth individuals in the Middle East, Europe, and Egypt.

 🤝 Acquisitions round-up

🕹️ Jetapult, an India-based investment company backed by Accel, has acquired a majority stake in Saudi’s UMX Studio through a $4.5 million multi-million-dollar, all-cash transaction. The investment will enable UMX, a Riyadh-based mobile game studio specializing in car games, to expand its portfolio and reach global markets. This is Jetapult’s first investment in the MENA region, with plans to explore Southeast Asia and Europe next. Backed by Accel, Jetapult brings hands-on expertise to help UMX scale and succeed in untapped markets.

🤖 Saudi Arabia-based investment community Tawaref has acquired Amaana.ai, a Riyadh-based company that uses AI to streamline business entry into Saudi Arabia, for an undisclosed amount. Founded by Saeed Al Ansari in 2020, Tawaref focuses on financing regional startups and providing entrepreneurial services. This acquisition enhances Tawaref’s ability to offer AI-driven solutions, simplifying market entry processes such as licensing and banking setup

 🤖 AI round-up

🤝 UAE telecoms and technology company e& has partnered with AWS in a deal valued at over $1 billion to accelerate cloud adoption and drive digital transformation in the region. Announced at GITEX in Dubai, the six-year partnership will focus on cloud storage, computing, AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity. E& will leverage AWS's services to modernise platforms like Starzplay Arabia and Careem, while also enabling small and medium-sized businesses to access AWS solutions.

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi-based Presight, part of the G42 Group, has launched the Presight AI-Startup Accelerator at Dubai's Expand North Star event. This three-month program focuses on early-stage AI startups from MENA, SEA, and Central Asia, providing AI-specific resources, mentoring, and access to high-performance computing. Supported by Presight's infrastructure and G42's ecosystem, the accelerator will help startups refine their business models and achieve market fit.

⌨️ Tech round-up

🚕 Bolt has partnered with Dubai Taxi Company to launch an e-hailing platform in Dubai, its first entry into the UAE. Announced at GITEX Global 2024, the partnership targets the AED 6 billion taxi and e-hailing market by integrating Bolt's technology with DTC's 6,000-vehicle fleet. This move supports Dubai’s goal of shifting 80% of taxi trips to e-booking and expands Bolt’s presence in the region, building on its success in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Bolt, valued at over €7 billion, secured a €220 million credit facility in May 2024 as it plans to go public next year.

🇦🇪 Microsoft and its partners will contribute $74.4 billion to the UAE economy over the next four years, according to an IDC study revealed at GITEX Global 2024. The report highlights Microsoft's $5.1 billion investment in UAE data centers and its role in driving digital transformation. The investment is expected to create 152,530 jobs, boosting the country's knowledge-based economy.

🪙 AED Stablecoin LLC has received approval from the UAE Central Bank to launch AE Coin, the country’s first dirham-backed stablecoin. AE Coin will offer fast, secure, and affordable transactions, supporting the UAE's digital economy and integrating with e-commerce platforms and mobile wallets.

💰 VC React Podcast: Episode 14

🎧 In this episode, we kicked off with Podeo's $5.4 million Series A and their expansion into emerging markets, focusing on local creator monetisation. This led to a broader discussion on the podcasting boom in MENA and the value of guest spots for VCs.

Next, we covered Coral's $3 million seed round for their AI-driven carbon emission management platform, debating the challenges climatetech faces in attracting VC funding in the region and diving into carbon credits.

We also explored Saudi adtech startup Quantum's funding from HearstLab, discussing data privacy regulations and their growth potential. Finally, we wrapped up with VelyVelo, the French e-bike rental startup, and its expansion into MENA through a fleet model for delivery drivers and freelancers.

‍This week Ahmad and I had the pleasure to be joined by the terrifically insightful:

• Hamed Masri (Partner @ Silicon Badia)

• ‍Hussein A. Attar (CEO @ Tech Invest Com)

📰 Recommended Reads

• Laura Jardine Paterson. Conflict in Lebanon has spiralled at a terrifying pace. I'm a tech founder who's had to leave the country, but I'm determined to go back.

• Natasha Mascarenhas. Tech Investors Head to Mideast for Deals.

• Hasan Zainal. These 18 startups could go public in the next few years.

• Timothy Motte. Little Thinking Minds: Edtech in MENA