At first glance, the startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) appears to have experienced a staggering growth in January 2025, raising a total investment of $863 million distributed over 63 rounds. But when discounting the debt financing ($768 million), the amount will be almost similar to January 2024. Last month showed…

Bahrain-born edtech startup Unipal has raised its Pre-Series A investment round for an unknown amount. The round is led by Plus VC with participation from Al Jazira Capital, RZM Investments, Falak Angels, Doha Tech Angels and other angel investors. Founded in 2020 by Ali Alalawi and Ali Al Shaer, Unipal offers an online education application…

Saudi Arabia-based SaaS provider Salla has entered into an agreement to acquire Sweply, an innovative Saudi digital advertising platform. Following the acquisition, Sweply will be rebranded as "Salla Ads," becoming the official advertising solution within Salla’s ecosystem. Founded in 2016 by Nawaf Hariri and Salman Butt, Salla enables merchants to set up their e-commerce online…

Saudi Arabia-based contech BRKZ has completed its Series A extension at $17 million, including $8 million raised in March last year and $1 million in venture debt. The funding was backed by investors, including Capifly along with existing investors, BECO Capital, Aramco’s Waed, 9900 Capital, Better Tomorrow Ventures, RZM Investment, Class 5 Global, MISY Ventures, Knollwood…

Saudi Arabia-based social media platform Mush Social has acquired Pubbles, a Saudi social media app.  The acquisition aims to expand Mush Social’s user base and reinforce its digital presence.  Founded in 2022 by Abdulhadi Alasmi, Mush Social is a social platform that allows users to earn points and own virtual assets through its innovative map…

UAE-based AI startup qeen.ai has secured a $10 million Seed funding round, in one of the largest seed investments in the MENA region to date.  The round is led by Prosus Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Wamda Capital, 10x Founders and Dara Holdings. Founded in 2023 by Dina Alsamhan, Ahmad Khwileh and Morteza…

Saudi Arabia-based AI startup vminds.ai has closed a six-figure pre-Seed investment round from undisclosed angel investors. Founded by Ahmed Al-Mashhadi, vminds.ai is an intelligent, self-learning platform that consolidates over 150 AI tools from global companies into a single platform.  The new funds will enhance vminds.ai during the official launch of its platform for individuals, as…

Egypt-based fintech Khazna has closed a $16 million pre-Series B funding round.  The round saw participation from new and existing investors, including SANAD Fund for MSME, anb Seed Fund, Aljazira Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Nclude, ICU Ventures, Quona, Speedinvest and Disruptech Ventures. Launched in 2020 by Omar Saleh, Ahmed Wagueeh and Fatimah El Shenawy, Khazna aims to…

Qatar-based VC firm Rasmal Ventures LLC has secured funding from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) as part of its Fund of Funds programme. The investment will fund Rasmal Venture’s inaugural homegrown VC fund, Rasmal Innovation Fund I LLC, which targets high-performance startups and scales up across sectors, including fintech, B2B SaaS, healthtech and AI. Rasmal Innovation Fund…