Saudi Arabia-based food pick-up app TWLM has raised $270,000 in investment, led by B Group with contributions from angel investors.  Founded in 2023 by Ahmed Al-Dakhil, Abdulaziz Al-Rashoud, Abdullah Al-Dakhil, and Walid Al-Qarni, TWLM provides an application for order pick-up services from restaurants and stores. The investment will propel TWLM’s plans to expand its footprint…

Saudi Arabia-based SaaS provider Blend has raised $1.3 million in a pre-Seed investment round, backed by an undisclosed group of angel investors.  Founded in 2023 by Omar bin Sultan Al-Lihyan, Blend allows restaurant owners to efficiently manage orders and items while easily tracking reports, through a system that integrates multiple food delivery platforms into a…

Egypt-based VC-incubator T-Vencubator has launched its inaugural initiative "Where's the Problem?" to back the Egyptian ecosystem. T-Vencubator, founded in 2023 by Reem Safy, aims to assist entrepreneurs and projects in overcoming both financial and expertise-related hurdles.  The initiative targets investing in five local startups by 2025. Press release: T-Vencubator, a leading Egyptian venture capital firm…

Egypt-based fintech Lucky ONE has raised $3 million in a convertible note from Lorax Capital Partners, KEM, DisrupTech Ventures and other existing investors.  Founded in 2018 by Momtaz Moussa, Ayman Essawy and Marwan Kenawy, Lucky offers financial flexibility and increased spending power through its robust lending scheme, discounts and cashbacks.  Lucky ONE, which has expanded…

Egypt-based fintech Qardy has raised a USD seven-figure pre-Seed round, invested by White Field Ventures, Vastly Valuable Ventures, along with other angel investors. Founded in 2022 by Abdelaziz Abdel Nabi, Asser Yehia and Tamer El-manasterly, Qardy is a digital lending marketplace that provides micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with financing solutions to scale their…

Applications are now open for the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First MENA & Turkey programme, designed to propel your venture to the next level. This intensive 10-week program provides participants with invaluable resources: Expert Mentorship: Gain guidance from experienced professionals in the field of AI. In-Person Training: Deepen your knowledge and skills through interactive…

An article by Fabian Ritter, head of community at CAST Studios The way art is created, sold and owned will change forever. Yet the question remains: is digital artwork worth the investment?To answer this question, let's look closely at the two core elements: Art and Digitisation. Modern digital art concepts The digital art revolution has democratised the…

Saudi Arabia-based SaaS providr Velents AI has raised an investment round, for an unknown amount, from Women Collective.  Founded in 2020 by Abdulaziz Almuhaydib and Mohamed Gaber, Velents is an AI-powered SaaS platform that automates the hiring process to mitigate the bias and cut hiring cost by 80%. Over 80% of the funding came from…

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan has acquired Tam Finans, a Turkey-based commercial finance company in Turkey. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2017 by Mounir Nakhla, MNT-Halan offers a diverse portfolio of financial and non-financial services ranging from lending, buy now pay later, e-commerce, payments, and mobility to on-demand logistics. Tim Finans, founded in…

The US tech giant Meta has joined forces with Startupbootcamp MENA to encourage the adoption of AI use cases in the MENA business landscape, Startupbootcamp (SBC) is a global network of industry-focused accelerators that supports startups by providing direct access to a worldwide network of relevant mentors, partners, and investors. The partnership will utilise Meta’s…