Happy Friday, friends 👋

We had a fleeting thought before putting pen to paper this morning, that it’d been a tough week for Elon Musk, what with Trump’s big, beautiful bill effectively jettisoning most of his DOGE cuts, and yesterday’s news that, despite his best efforts to blow up Stargate UAE (including a personal call to G42 execs warning them the deal would never get past Trump unless xAI was included), the deal went ahead anyway.

But that thought was quickly brushed aside when we remembered his net worth is inching ever closer to a ludicrous half-trillion-dollar mark – buoyed, not hampered, by an inevitable disillusionment with the bureaucracy of government and international diplomacy, which has, in turn, prompted a return to full-time focus on Tesla and SpaceX, promptly sending the former’s stock price climbing.

As is so often the adage with Musk, even when he loses, he somehow still wins.

In any case, Musk aside, there’s plenty to get through this week. On the back of the publication of Saudi’s draft SPAC framework, we analyse what it actually means. The kingdom’s new AI behemoth, HUMAIN, inevitably launches a colossal $10B VC fund focused on global AI startups. Qashio and Stitch both close double-digit funding rounds. Turkish fintech unicorn Papara is under criminal investigation, with its founder detained over alleged involvement in illegal betting and money laundering.

Over in Egypt, BNPL leader Valu’s debut on the EGX inches closer, with a trade offering expected in mid-June. Prypco edges in on Stake’s territory, but on the blockchain (albeit with high fees). And Saudi quick commerce gets yet another new entrant to a party that’s getting pretty crowded, with Keeta, the international arm of China’s Meituan, finally launching Keemart in Riyadh.

Without further ado, let’s dig into this week’s edition.

Recommend reading this one online so you don’t get cut off halfway through 👇

This week’s round-up is a 5 min read:

• 🇸🇦 What you need to know about Saudi SPACs

• 🤖 Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN to launch $10B VC fund for global AI startups

• 💥 Elon Musk tried, and failed, to blow up Stargate UAE

• 🏦 Stitch raises $10M to build Saudi-born fintech infrastructure for emerging markets

• 🇪🇬 Egyptian founder Ozzie Osman’s Monarch raises $75M Series B to become the new leader in personal finance

🚀 Startup funding round-up

Qashio (🇦🇪 UAE), a spend management platform, has raised $19.8 million in a mix of equity and non-equity funding, led by Rocketship VC with participation from MoreThan Capital, regional banks, and family offices.

Stitch (🇸🇦 KSA), a fintech infrastructure startup offering an API-based platform to launch financial products, has raised $10 million in a Seed round, backed by Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, RAED Ventures, SVC, and angel investors such as Jason Gardner (Marqeta) and Abdulmalik AlSheikh (mada, Sadad)

PayLater (🇶🇦 Qatar), the first BNPL platform licensed by the Qatar Central Bank, has received a strategic investment from LuLu Alternative Investments (LuLu AI).

Taawoni (🇸🇦 KSA), an edtech platform automating cooperative training and offering AI-powered mentorship tools, has raised $1.6 million in a round led by M Capital.

Gainz (🇦🇪 UAE), a Shariah-compliant SME financing platform enabling individuals to invest in vetted businesses, has raised a 7-figure USD pre-Seed round (equity + debt), backed by Antler MENAP, Lithium Holdings, and Eleventh Invest Inc.

Vault Wealth (🇦🇪 UAE), a digital private wealth management platform targeting high-net-worth individuals, has raised an undisclosed round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Outliers VC.

BirdEye (🇸🇦 KSA), a retail tech platform helping small businesses manage operations, has raised $586,000 in a pre-Seed round from a private tech-focused fund.

Toolmart (🇮🇶 Iraq), a B2B e-commerce startup transforming industrial procurement by offering an inventory-light, tech-enabled sourcing platform, has raised an undisclosed Seed round led by Plus VC and Oasis500.

Bloomspoon (🇦🇪 UAE), an eco-friendly consumer goods startup offering plantable tableware, secured $218k for a 49% stake on Shark Tank Dubai from BFL Group’s Tawfik Kreidieh to expand products, enter new markets, and pursue B Corp certification.

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Public Markets

What you need to know about Saudi SPACs

In 2021, SPACs were everywhere.

Chamath Palihapitiya was on CNBC every week, doing his best approximation of Kevin Feige, launching SPACs like they were Marvel phases. Bill Ackman tried to engineer a version so complex it broke the SEC’s brain. Everyone had a blank-check company. The TAMs were big, the fees were bigger, and the market appetite was seemingly insatiable.

It didn’t last. Reality reasserted itself, as it tends to, and like many financial fads inflated by zero rates and retail exuberance, the SPAC boom went spectacularly bust. By the end of 2022, 80%+ of SPACs had traded down, targets struggled to meet forecasts, and redemptions hit record highs. In the US, regulators tightened rules. In Europe, interest never really caught on. And regionally? - tumbleweed.

The once-sexy alternative to traditional IPOs became shorthand for financial engineering with more optimism than substance.

So what on earth then is Saudi doing reviving them in 2025?

This week, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) published a draft framework to allow SPACs to list on Nomu, the kingdom’s parallel market. It’s a move that seems, at first glance, three years late to the party.

And yet, this may be the first time SPACs have actually arrived on time.

Let’s break it down…

💸 VC

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN intends to launch a $10 billion VC fund this summer, one of the largest capital pools globally dedicated to AI startups. The fund, HUMAIN Ventures, will invest across the US, Europe, and Asia, with an explicit goal of placing Saudi Arabia at the heart of the global AI ecosystem. Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, confirmed the fund’s launch in an interview with the Financial Times. He said the company is in talks with OpenAI, xAI, and Andreessen Horowitz, and is actively seeking a US tech company to take equity in its data centre arm.

🌍 COREangels MEA, co-founded by Maha Mandour and backed by PTS Holdings and Kemtix Ventures, has launched a $10M fund to support early-stage tech startups across the Middle East and Africa. At its 5th Investment Committee in Cairo, five fintech startups: eMaisha Pay (Uganda), RentBeta (East Africa), Aqua Offers (Egypt), Monak (MENA), and Reeple (Nigeria), were each awarded up to $150K following a selection process. The fund combines global angel capital, local expertise, and operational support through its venture studio, with a strong focus on startups aligned with the UN SDGs.

🌍 International investments

💸 Monarch, the subscription-only personal finance platform co-founded by Egypt-born Ozzie Osman, has raised $75M in a Series B round led by Forerunner Ventures and FPV Ventures, valuing the San Francisco-based startup at $850M. Osman, formerly Head of Product Engineering at Quora and founder of Akhbarak.net, built Monarch as a privacy-first alternative to ad-supported tools like Mint, which shut down in early 2024. The closure triggered a surge in demand, driving a 20x spike in subscribers. With a $14.99/month model and features like investment tracking, AI insights, and collaborative planning, Monarch is positioning itself as the Canva of personal finance.

💰 Fintech

🚨 Turkish fintech unicorn Papara is under criminal investigation, with founder and chairman Ahmet Faruk Karslı among 13 detained over alleged involvement in illegal betting and money laundering. Authorities say over 26,000 Papara accounts facilitated $330M in illicit transactions, with state institutions citing systematic use of the platform by betting networks. Licensed since 2016, Papara allegedly earned fees from these flows without intervening. Assets linked to suspects, including yachts and villas, have been seized, and Turkey’s TMSF has taken control of parent company PPR Holding. Papara had recently expanded internationally and claimed 23M+ users and a near $2B valuation.

📲 D360 Bank, a Saudi Shariah-compliant digital bank backed by PIF and Derayah Financial, has surpassed one million customers just four months post-launch. Led by CEO Eze Szafir, the bank has processed over $13.3B in transactions across 100+ countries. Key offerings include BaaS tools, the daily-profit Sanabil Savings Account, and instant account setup.

🤝 New Entrants

🏢 Carta has opened a new office in Abu Dhabi’s ADGM, marking its official entry into the MENA region. Led by Bhavik Vashi, the move follows two years of groundwork with regulators like FSRA and stakeholders including ADIO and ADDED. Now fully licensed, Carta will offer regional VC and PE firms tools for compliance, fund admin, and investor reporting. Abu Dhabi, which saw 245% AUM growth in 2024, now hosts 166 funds, making it a strategic launchpad for Carta’s expansion. Clients already include Global Ventures, BECO, Cotu, Outliers, DFDF, Foodics, and Kitopi.

🤝 Acquisitions / Exits

📦 Saudi investment firm NOMW Capital has acquired a majority stake in on-demand delivery platform Mrsool, founded in 2015 by Ayman Al-Sanad and Nayef Al-Samri. Active in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain, Mrsool's acquisition is expected to fast-track its planned listing on the Saudi main market, a move first hinted at by Al-Sanad in 2022 with a three-year IPO timeline. NOMW, licensed by the Capital Market Authority, adds Mrsool to a diverse portfolio spanning real estate, healthcare, education, and food, signaling its intent to deepen exposure to high-growth tech and logistics sectors.

💳 Cairo-based payments infrastructure firm MDP has secured a strategic investment led by Lorax Capital Partners, with backing from the EBRD, IFC, and Proparco, marking an exit for early backer AfricInvest. Co-founded by Ahmed Nafie, MDP powers card issuing, processing, and digital payments for over 200 banks and 60 fintechs across more than 40 countries, having issued 350 million cards and processed 1B+ transactions. The deal sets up MDP for deeper expansion across MEA, with renewed focus on scaling its tech and footprint in the financial infrastructure stack.

🧠 UAE-based Tech Universal Ventures (TUV) has acquired FixSquad (UAE) and ELVA11 (Sweden) to bolster its digital infrastructure and AI capabilities across the GCC and global markets. FixSquad, led by CEO Mohamed Rafeeque, runs a hybrid consumer–enterprise model for electronics servicing and is scaling via a regional franchise rollout. ELVA11, founded by Jim Roslund, is a Malmö-based AI and software consultancy known for its engineering-led approach to digital consulting and education.

📈 Public markets

📈 Egyptian BNPL player Valu, founded in 2017 and led by CEO Walid Hassouna, has listed on the Egyptian Exchange following a strategic in-kind dividend distribution by parent company EFG Holding. The move, which allocates 20.49% of Valu’s share capital to EFG shareholders, precedes a trading debut expected the week of June 22, 2025. Backed by EFG Hermes, Valu reported approximately $65.3M USD in gross revenue and $8.9M USD in net profit for FY 2024.

🏡 Proptech

🏠 Prypco, the Dubai-based proptech platform founded by Amira Sajwani, has launched a pilot allowing UAE residents to invest in tokenised real estate, approved by the Dubai Land Department and VARA. Built on Ripple and integrated with the Dubai REST app and Zand Bank, the fiat-only offering enables Emirate ID holders to co-invest from as little as AED 2,000. While projected returns are 8–12% annually, investors face layered fees totalling up to 20%, including investment, management, and exit fees. Prypco has raised $10M from Shorooq Partners and Apparel Group, with four business lines including tokenised property, mortgages, golden visa facilitation, and a secondary sales platform.

🛒 Quick commerce

🛒 Keeta, the international arm of China’s Meituan, has launched Keemart in Riyadh, offering 15-minute grocery delivery starting in Al Yasmin and Granada. Led by Aria Liu, the service targets fast access to daily essentials via the Keeta app, using local hubs and a smart dispatch system. Expansion across Riyadh and eventually Saudi Arabia is planned. Keemart joins a growing field of quick-commerce players, including Rabbit, Careem, Ninja, and Nana betting on speed and convenience in the Kingdom’s urban centres.

💰 VC React Podcast: Episode 36

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🎧 This week on the VC React Podcast, we unpack the factors behind Egypt’s massive startup funding surge, unpack funding for Nawy, Thndr, Sylndr, and Money Fellows, and discuss sovereignty in the context of LLMs and satellite imagery.

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