- Startup ecosystem witnessed several early-stage funding rounds this week
CAIRO: The startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa witnessed several early stage funding rounds this week, with Saudi ventures predominantly leading the activity.
Saudi fintech startup Wadaie successfully completed its pre-seed funding round.
While the exact amount remains undisclosed, the lead investor was RZM Investments, a notable investment firm based in Saudi Arabia.
Bunat Ventures, along with several other Saudi angel investors, also participated in Wadaie’s funding round.
Established last year by Abdullah Al-Andas, Rayan Al-Tuwayjiri, and Abdulrahman Al-Hawas, Wadaie is a financial technology platform with a vision to bolster Saudi Arabia’s savings sector.
Designed to bridge the gap between depositors and banks within the country, the platform facilitates earnings on Shariah-compliant time deposits. This negates the need for depositors to open new accounts in multiple financial institutions.
The platform’s dual benefit lies in its ability to aid banks in tapping into newer markets and broadening their clientele, while also ensuring a seamless savings experience for depositors.
Al-Andas, Wadaie’s CEO, emphasized that the firm’s business trajectory is in sync with Saudi Arabia’s financial development goals, particularly focusing on enhancing the Kingdom’s fintech space.
With this fresh influx of capital, Wadaie is poised to diversify its range of savings and investment offerings, ensuring an even more streamlined experience for its clientele.
Saudi Arabia’s Mthmr raises $1.6m in a seed round
Saudi-based fintech company Mthmr closed a $1.6 million seed funding round from investors Waed Ventures, Dahran Trading Group, and Le Augure.
Founded in 2021 by Abdulrahman Qamsani and Abdulrahman bin Nujifan, Mthmr aims to revolutionize personal finance management with a platform that enables individuals to precisely monitor their expenditure.
“We take immense pride in aligning Mthmr with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, as we continue to promote financial literacy and simplify personal expense management processes,” Qamsani said.
The company aims to utilize its funding to develop a new line of features that will help automate the savings process for its users.
Additionally, the company aims to integrate artificial intelligence technology into its platform to further stimulate customer finance management.
Saudi’s fragrance ecommerce secures a revenue-based investment deal from Tenami Capital
Golden Scent, a Saudi Arabian fragrance e-commerce platform, managed to raise an undisclosed revenue-based investment from Tenami Capital.
Under such a deal, investors receive a regular share of the business’s income until a predetermined amount, typically a multiple of the initial investment, has been paid.
Founded in 2014 by Malik Al-Shehab and Ronny Froehlich, Golden Scent is one of the region’s largest fragrance ecommerce platforms in the region.
We remain grateful to all our shareholders and partners for their hard work, support, and guidance in helping us develop into a truly regional champion.
Malik Al-Shehab, Golden Scent founder/CEO
The company claims to have over 2 million shoppers and millions of monthly visitors in addition to 7 million downloads since its launch.
Through its digital platform, Golden Scent harbors over 20,000 fragrances from over 1,000 brands with Arabic and international perfumes.
“We highly value the founder-friendly approach of Tenami Capital and look forward to working together to take Golden Scent to even greater heights, expanding our product range and reaching more customers across the region,” Al-Shehab said.
“We remain grateful to all our shareholders and partners for their hard work, support, and guidance in helping us develop into a truly regional champion,” he added.
The company aims to utilize its initial funding to enhance its product offering, expand its footprint, and empower its operational efficiencies.
Egypt’s pharmaceutical marketplace Grinta acquires counterpart
Grinta, one of Egypt’s leading business to business pharmaceutical marketplaces, acquired its Egyptian counterpart Auto-Cure for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2020 by Mohamed Rezk and Amr Kamel, Auto-Cure is a multi-vendor marketplace for pharmacies in Alexandria to purchase products and restock their inventory. Auto-Cure has processed over 5,000 orders for 450 pharmacies in the past 18 months.
This marks Grinta’s third acquisition in the Egyptian market after taking over PH Store and EME.
“Joining hands with Grinta is incredibly exciting for us, our commitment to digitizing the market and delivering customer satisfaction has led us to joining Grinta’s brilliant team. We have unlocked a world of possibilities, and together we will be extending our reach not only in Alexandria but throughout the Middle East and Africa,” Rezk said.
In November 2022, Grinta closed an $8 million seed funding round co-led by Raed Ventures and Nclude, bringing its total investment to date to $9.5 million.
After the funding, Grinta declared that it plans to exploit its capital resources to boost its presence in the Egyptian market.
The company claims to serve over 7,000 pharmacies and has delivered over 200,000 orders.
Egypt’s Flat6Labs announces construction technology accelerator program
Flat6Labs, one of the region’s leading early-stage venture capital firms, launched the Makers ConTech Accelerator program with awards reaching $100k.
The program, in partnership with SIAC and Dar Al-Handsah, aims to stimulate growth to construction technology startups through a 12-week period.
Startups participating in the program will be exposed to industry experts, pilot projects, mentorship, business training, one-on-one consultations, coaching sessions, networking opportunities, and other resources.
Flat6Labs aims to focus on Egyptian entrepreneurs in its initial launch and will soon roll out the program to Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region.
Source: Arab News
