Startups

Solvytix Venture Studio enters Egypt as a co-founding tech partner

Solvytix has launched a venture studio in Egypt to co-found and build technology startups from the ground up. The studio embeds as an operating partner rather than a service provider taking shared responsibility for execution from day one.

Siin raises $3 million to scale live commerce across the GCC

Siin has raised $3 million to scale live commerce across the GCC. The Bahrain-born platform lets users buy and sell through interactive livestreams and already operates across six Gulf markets.

Metafare raises $1 million to scale VR wellness in Saudi Arabia

Saudi healthtech Metafare has raised $1 million to scale virtual reality wellness sessions powered by AI. The company is targeting both individual users and corporate clients with personalised fifteen-minute health experiences.

Madeed raises $925K to bring preventive healthcare to Saudi Arabia

Saudi healthtech Madeed has raised $925,000 in pre-seed funding to scale a preventive health platform built around biomarker testing and personalised care. The company wants to catch disease risk before symptoms ever appear.

Ineffable Intelligence raises $1.1B to build a superlearner AI

A months-old British AI lab with no product and no revenue just raised $1.1 billion at a $5.1 billion valuation. Ineffable Intelligence is betting reinforcement learning will reach super-intelligence first.

The case for and against crowdfunding as a path to lasting business

Crowdfunding has evolved well beyond Kickstarter campaigns and creative projects. With equity models growing fast and the global market approaching $21 billion, the real question is whether the companies it produces are built to last or built to launch.

COLABS raises over $8M to scale flexible workspaces across region

Pakistan founded COLABS raises over $8 million and launches a 4,000 sqm workspace campus in Riyadh as demand for flexible offices rises among startups and SMEs.

Ray raises $1.2M seed funding for powerbank sharing expansion

Ray raises $1.2M in seed funding to expand its unit sharing powerbank network across the Gulf, targeting high traffic urban locations with Tap to Pay rental stations.

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

The dilution math every founder needs to know before raising a round

Sixty-nine percent of co-founders in digital health IPOs owned less than five percent of their company when they went public. Forty-four percent had no reported equity at all. The median individual founder ownership at IPO was just two percent. Those numbers should make every founder sit up straight. But here is the caveat. Those are digital health companies. They eat cash for breakfast. A lean B2B SaaS startup with good unit economics will do much better. Still, the trend is real. Founder ownership gets eaten alive by funding rounds. The question is not whether you will get diluted. You will. The question is how much you can protect, and whether what is left at the end is worth the years you gave. This guide walks through the math in plain English. No complex spreadsheets. Just clear numbers, real examples from Careem and Daraz, and the legal stuff you actually need to know. From the option pool shuffle to anti-dilution clauses, here is what founders should understand before they sign their first term sheet.

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

The complete fundraising timeline 12 weeks from first meeting to investment

Successful MENA startups typically close funding rounds within 12 weeks of initial investor contact, though Saudi deals extend to 16 weeks due to regulatory requirements. This comprehensive timeline breaks down each phase from first meetings through deal closing.

Why burn rate is the most important number in your startups financial model

GAGA raises $2.5M to expand interactive learning across Saudi Arabia

Saudi edtech startup GAGA has raised $2.5 million in a pre series A round led by Phoenix Venture Partners to expand its live learning model and scale AI driven personalized education.

Miftah raises pre seed investment for property platform

Syrian proptech startup Miftah has raised a pre seed funding round to digitize real estate transactions and improve transparency in Syria’s property market.

MENA Startups Burn Through 40% More Marketing Budget Than Global Peers

New research reveals MENA startups spend 40% more on customer acquisition than global peers while achieving lower conversion rates. The inefficiency has contributed to over 340 startup closures in 18 months.

Mobility startup Weego secures $1.1 million to expand MaaS platform

Mobility startup Weego raises $1.1 million led by Azur Innovation Fund to expand its MaaS platform and strengthen enterprise transportation solutions across African markets.

Qatar based iQtech lands investment to grow AI powered XR medical training

Qatar healthtech startup iQtech raises its first funding round from Selexi and Yuniro to scale EsculapioVR, an AI powered XR platform for medical training.

What founders get wrong about localizing products for the Middle East beyond translation

Founders often mistake localization for mere translation when building products for the Middle East, overlooking critical aspects like local payment preferences, cultural nuances, and complex regulatory landscapes. This oversight can lead to significant adoption challenges and hinder market penetration in the region's diverse and rapidly growing tech ecosystem.