1. 🇦🇪 UAE: Fintech startup Mafhoom Technologies, founded in 2022 by Ahmad Khatib and Ziad Melhem, has raised $1.36 million in a pre-Seed round led by Al-Wafra Al-Thanya for Investments and other angels. The company offers an app for optimising spending, reducing bills, and enhancing financial literacy, and has plans to expand into Saudi Arabia.

2. 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: Khafy App, founded in 2022 has secured around $800,000 in a Pre-Seed investment round. The start-up offers a Mystery Shopper service, enabling businesses to assess their operations and staff through detailed reports.

3. 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: HealthTech startup UDAWI يداوي, part of Riyadh Seed Program Cycle 2, has received a $200,000 investment from Flat6Labs. UDAWI يداوي connects healthcare providers with individuals and businesses, simplifying health checkups and providing discounts at over 2,500 healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia.

• Missed Tuesday’s edition, check it out 👉 here.

Introducing Wize, the UAE-based startup providing sustainable transport solutions for last-mile delivery.

Drumroll, please 🥁... they just secured $16 million in pre-seed funding.

• Founded in 2022 by Alexander Lemzakov, Wize is pioneering sustainable delivery with electric motorcycles and a service platform for businesses to manage their fleets. 

💰 Investor low-down: The funding round was led by a group of unnamed MENA-focused angel investors.

📦 What’s the eco-cost of a delivery anyway?

There has never been a time of greater demand for last-mile transport.

(Honestly, if you’re not on a first name basis with your delivery driver at this stage, we cannot relate  👀)

The World Economic Forum reports that by 2030, the count of delivery vehicles in the top 100 global cities is expected to surge by 36%.

This is eyebrow-raising, as it means there's potential for over a 32% increase in carbon emissions without effective changes.

😏 Look who’s the Wize guy now

But luckily Lemzakov and Co.  believe they can help.

Wize offers two primary services:

1. Subscription-based electric motorcycles for sustainable delivery.

We’re talking a range of electric motorcycles named swift, rapid, and speedy to suit various business needs and budgets 👇

Each one complies with UAE courier transport regulations, including RTA-standard delivery boxes, and could cut transportation costs for businesses by up to 30% monthly. Very nice.

2. A rental and subs platform for business owners to enable more efficient management.

Includes access to fleet data 24/7, including driver behaviour, location, speed, and vehicle charge levels. 

🔋 Say goodbye to long charging times

Wize have also rolled out the UAE's first battery-swap stations, making it super easy for drivers to switch batteries.

You can book in advance and keep an eye on your charge with their Battery Swap App – making deliveries far more efficient.

Plus, they also focus on the software for managing these stations and battery conditions, ensuring everything complies with UAE laws and local data storage.

🔮 Flashforward

With this fresh funding, Wize is planning to expand its operations in the UAE. They've recently teamed up with Motoboy, the UAE's first sustainable logistics company, for the long haul. And they're eyeing more new partners across the MENA region too.

🤳 Here’s Tamara! The Saudi fintech start-up specialises in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, enabling consumers to purchase products and pay in up to 4 interest-free instalments.

And they just secured an additional $250 million in debt financing, raising its total warehouse facility to $400 million.

• Co-founded in 2020, by Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain, the company now has more than 9 million users.

💰 Investor low-down: The facility includes up to $200 million in senior debt from Goldman Sachs and a $50 million mezzanine tranche led by Shorooq Partners.

• Tamara previously secured $100 million in a Series B round in August 2022.

🛍️ What’s the deal with BNPL?

It hasn’t been all easy-breezy. Amid industry challenges, the BNPL sector is expanding from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar sales for sustainable growth.

With around 90% of MENA's retail occurring offline, there’s BIG market potential.

⚙️ Break it down: 

Whether online or in-store, Tamara’s got the answer:

• 🛒 Select it at the cashier, or choose from over 26,000 online partner brands

• 📱 Give your phone number

• 💳 Pay through a link sent by SMS

• 📲 Manage your payment plan in the app

How does Tamara turn a profit? They charge retailers, not shoppers.

📈 What’s in it for the retailer? 

Tamara acts as a marketing and discovery channel for partners to drive new customers and incremental sales online and in-store.

The result? Retailers partnering with Tamara have reported a 40% increase in average order value (AOV), 20% reduction in cash on delivery, 15% increase in conversion rates, and a significant decrease in order return rates.

What’s more, the service simplifies transaction management, reduces fraud risk, and ensures businesses receive full payment upfront while customers enjoy extended payment terms.

⚖️ Talk to me about regulation

The BNPL sector in MENA is mostly unregulated. 

But, things are changing for the better.

Saudi Arabia's Central Bank (SAMA) recently began issuing BNPL permits to no-fee, no-interest providers, and this summer, Tamara became one of only four Saudi companies to receive this authorisation.

🔮 Flashforward

The recent funding will boost the company's development of their flagship BNPL product and enable investment in developing new, innovative products and services.

👋 Message from the team

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