News

Term sheet clauses every MENA founder must understand

Most founders read a term sheet the way most people read a terms-and-conditions page — quickly, optimistically, and with a quiet faith that everything will probably be fine. It rarely is. Buried inside the standard language are three clauses that will determine, far more than your ownership percentage ever will, how much money you actually walk away with when your company exits. Get the valuation math wrong and you lose equity before the ink dries. Accept a participating liquidation preference without understanding it and an investor can take the majority of a modest exit while you held the majority of the company. Sign a full ratchet anti-dilution clause and a single down round can halve your ownership without you raising another dollar. This guide breaks down each clause plainly, shows you what the numbers actually look like, and tells you what to fight, what to accept, and what should make you walk away from the table entirely.

WHOOP attracts Gulf sovereign funds and global athletes in $575M round

The math of ownership: what founders actually keep after raising money

Most founders know dilution is coming. Few understand how fast it compounds. By the time you reach Series B, the cap table you started with looks nothing like the one you have now — and the difference is not just the rounds you raised.

Maison Safqa raises $620K pre-seed to bring luxury overstock discreetly to GCC shoppers

Luxury brands have a dirty secret. When beautiful handbags and sneakers don't sell, they either sit in warehouses collecting dust or get burned. Literally burned. Burberry once destroyed £30 million worth of products just to protect its image. Three women in Riyadh—Lea Mehaweg, Georgia Mehaweg, and Estelle Nasr—think that's insane. Their startup, Maison Safqa, just raised $620,000 to build a private platform where luxury brands can quietly sell overstock at discounts. No fire. No cheap discount racks. Just smart, discreet selling. In less than a year, they've signed 50 brands and grown sales 20x. Luxury doesn't have to mean waste. They're proving it.

Egyptian fintech Lucky secures $23M Series B as it expands consumer credit into Tunisia and Morocco

From Karachi to Dubai: A Founder's Guide to Raising the Right Amount at the Right Valuation

Dubai Just Made Driverless Taxis an Everyday Reality

ITIDA and Plug and Play help 61 startups raise $3.7M in upper Egypt

Egypt’s ITIDA and Plug and Play support 61 Upper Egypt startups through the Aswan Bootcamp, helping them secure $3.7M in funding and expand regional innovation.

SAMA’s new framework sets higher standards for payment operators

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) issues an updated oversight framework for payment systems, strengthening governance, risk management, and cybersecurity across the Kingdom’s financial infrastructure.

Global investors team up to build payments infrastructure in UAE

Blackstone, Raya Holding, NRT, and Sightline form a strategic partnership to invest in a UAE based payments infrastructure platform, targeting digital finance growth in the region.

AWS Bahrain disruption hits financial institutions following drone activity

Amazon flags disruption in its AWS Bahrain region following drone activity, marking the second outage in March amid escalating Middle East tensions impacting cloud infrastructure.

Solutions by stc signs $373M supercomputer deal with Aramco

stc Solutions signs a SAR 1.4 billion ($373M) contract with Aramco to develop a high performance computing supercomputer to support exploration and production operations.

Saudi gaming ambitions grow as EGDC Acquires 5%+ in Capcom

Saudi gaming investment arm EGDC acquires a 5.03% stake in Capcom as part of Vision 2030’s strategy to build a global entertainment and gaming ecosystem and diversify the Kingdom’s economy.

MENA edtech startup Qualiphi buys career club to scale AI career platform

MENA based edtech startup Qualiphi has acquired Career Club to expand AI driven career services, enhancing personalized guidance and employment solutions across the region.

Starlink enters Kuwait after regulatory approval from CITRA

Kuwait’s telecom regulator CITRA has granted a license to Starlink, enabling SpaceX’s satellite internet service to enter the Kuwaiti market and expand connectivity across underserved areas.

Saudi Arabia introduces IoT ecosystem map amid rapid market expansion

Saudi Arabia launches a national IoT landscape map detailing ecosystem players, technologies, and regulations, as the Kingdom’s IoT market surpasses $10.7B and targets over $30B in the coming decade.

$272M investment strategy targets economic growth in Emirates villages

The UAE Cabinet has approved a new national strategy to attract over $272 million (AED 1 billion) in investment to support entrepreneurship, SMEs and economic development in Emirates villages, part of broader national efforts to diversify the economy and promote rural growth.

YouTube's deepfake shield comes too late for MENA journalists already under digital siege

YouTube introduces a deepfake protection system, but many MENA journalists say the move comes too late as they continue facing escalating digital harassment and misinformation.

Shorooq Partners joins $1.03B funding round for AI firm AMI labs

Shorooq Partners invests in AMI Labs’ $1.03B funding round, reflecting growing interest in AI innovation aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 digital transformation goals.