News
Saudi Arabia has launched investments worth $6.4 billion in future technologies, the Saudi minister of communication and information technology said on Tuesday, as the kingdom races to diversify its economy from oil in the face of fierce regional competition.
Wealthy Gulf countries have launched initiatives to boost non-oil growth and reduce dependence on crude oil as climate change campaigners and volatility in oil prices have put pressure on government finances.
The kingdom has already announced it is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into an economic transformation, known as Vision 2030, led by its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
The investments announced on Tuesday include a $2 billion joint venture between eWTP Arabia Capital, a fund backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Alibaba, and China's J&T Express Group, minister Abdullah Alswaha said.
Saudi oil giant Aramco will inject, via its fund Prosperity7 Ventures, $1 billion to help entrepreneurs across the globe build transformative start-ups, while Saudi Telecom Co (STC) 7010.SE will invest $1 billion in the infrastructure of submarine cables and data centres, he said.
"Right now, the tech and digital market in the kingdom is around $40 billion which is the largest by far in the region. We're very proud of the growth that we have seen in the region, specifically in areas around e-commerce, gaming, digital content and cloud," Alswaha said in a interview with Reuters.
The minister, who was speaking on the margins of LEAP, an international technology platform taking place in Riyadh, said Armaco Prosperity7's initiative will focus on green technologies while logistics company J&T Express Group's joint venture will build a smart hub for the region that will improve efficiency by up to 100%.
Alswaha said NEOM, a futuristic megacity that the crown prince is building on the Red Sea coast, has launched $1 billion of investments in a metaverse to serve the city's residents and visitors, in addition to another platform that would help users to take control of their personal data.
"We project over the next eight years, a minimum of another 100,000 to 250,000 jobs, which will effectively mean doubling the number of coders that we have today, in some cases will triple (the number)," he said.
The government also expects $1.4 billion to be spent in entrepreneurship and allocated to funds to support digital content, including an initiative known as The Garage, a space in the capital Riyadh that will host start-ups specialised in new technologies.
"All the numbers ... are vetted and validated by third parties. Again, we are not in the business of any showmanship, we're in the business of committing and delivering," the minister said.
Source: zawya
UAE-based digital authentication startup Nice to Meet You (NTMY), has raised a $1 million Seed round to hire new talent and improve its customer experience.
Founded in 2018 by Mohamad Baydoun, NTMY provides its clients with a set of tools to use when authenticating employees, customers, and members.
Across the Middle East, startups working to ease companies' transition to the digital realm are rapidly gathering pace. UAE-based digital authentication startup Nice to Meet You (NTMY), has raised a $1 million Seed round, according to a statement issued today on the company's website.
Founded in 2018 by Mohamad Baydoun, the startup aims to help business owners minimise physical contact within premises. The company initially started off as a business card exchange process. Now, NTMY provides its clients with a set of tools to use when authenticating employees, customers, and members.
These include organisational IDs, access cards, membership cards, and insurance cards.
According to the statement, the new round will enable NTMY to hire new talent, enhance its tech stack as well as its customer experience.
A month earlier, FACEKI, a UAE-based facial recognition and identity verification platform also raised a pre-Seed round.
Source: Wamda
Tamatem Games Raises $11 million in Series B round led by KRAFTON, Inc.
30 Dec 2021 Written by Admin AdminJordan-based Arabic mobile games publisher Tamatem Games, has raised $11 million in a Series B funding round led by South Korea-based video game developer KRAFTON Inc.,with participation from Venture Souq, Endeavor Catalyst and existing investors including Wamda and 500 Global.
Founded in 2013 by Hussam Hammo, Tamatem works with international game developers to localise and publish mobile games in the Arabic-speaking market. The startup has leveraged 100 million game downloads, one million monthly active users and over 50 published games.
The investment will be used to fuel its expansion strategy across the region with initial focus on Saudi Arabia where it will hire local talent.
Plans of launching a gaming academy to train, educate and elevate employment in the industry are also on the horizon for Tamatem.
Press release:
Tamatem Games, leading Arabic mobile games publisher, raises $11 Million in Series B funding round led by South Korean video game developer KRAFTON, Inc. The round that was led by KRAFTON, Inc., makers of the phenomenally popular battle royale game PUBG, also saw participation from Venture Souq, Endeavor Catalyst and existing investors.
Tamatem has seen great successes since its launch, leveraging over 100 million game downloads and gaining widespread international recognition for its publishing efforts in the region.
With the investment in play and following its previous publishing successes, Tamatem plans on amplifying its efforts even further by bringing a wider selection of games with bigger and more popular titles to the Arabic speaking market. “The demand for relatable and enjoyable mobile games is higher than ever and our mission is to provide our region with the best gaming experience possible” CEO & Founder Hussam Hammo.
MENA’s leading publisher will also carry out its growth strategy of increasing its presence in the region by expanding offices in Saudi Arabia to hire local Saudi talent and have a stronger foothold in the country that harbors 70% of its users. Alongside its expansion efforts in Saudi Arabia Tamatem also plans to expand into more countries in the region.
Plans of launching a gaming academy to train, educate and elevate employment in the industry are also on the horizon for Tamatem in pursuit of pushing market growth and maturity. “Big things are happening for the mobile games industry in the region, we are reaping the rewards of our past successes and pushing forward with more experience and more grit.
We are at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the massive potential of mobile games in MENA and I am always super elevated when more people invest in the industry and the region” - CEO & Founder Hussam Hammo Tamatem is recognised as one of the most funded gaming startups in the region, raising over $17 million in funding since its establishment in 2013.
Commenting on the investment, Anuj Tandon, Head (India and MENA), Corporate Development, KRAFTON, Inc. said, ‘We see huge potential in the MENA region and are happy to have started our investment journey here with a prolific publisher like Tamatem. We are committed to the MENA region and willing to take more bets in the overall Media and Entertainment Sector, and this investment is aligned with our efforts to strengthen our commitment to the startup ecosystem.
This is just the beginning of our many investments in this region.’ He further added, ‘As we continue our focus to provide the best experience for our MENA users of our various games including PUBG:NEW STATE, Tamatem’s deep understanding of the local landscape and this collaboration will be very helpful.’
Source: Wamda
Jordan-based Hello World Kids, an online coding tutoring platform, has raised an undisclosed pre-Series A funding round to accelerate its expansion into the Saudi market. The round was led by Daam Almonsha'at Holding, Oman Technology Fund (OTF) and saw participation from Vision Ventures.
Founded in 2015 by Hanan Khader, Hello World Kids offers courses in programming, coding courses and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for children.
In 2020, the company launched HelloCode, an online interactive platform that offers a coding curriculum for schools.
Beyond Saudi Arabia, the startup will use the newly raised funds to expand into Egypt and Pakistan.
Press release
The Jordanian EdTech company Hello World Kids closes their latest funding round of undisclosed amount. The Pre-Series A round was led by Daam Almonsha'at Holding, Oman Technology Fund, and with participation from Vision Ventures.
Founded in 2015, Hello World Kids aims to develop unique and fun coding education for kids, at home or in class. In 2020, the company launched HelloCode, an online interactive platform that offers coding curricula for schools to arm new generations with crucial skills like problem-solving, analytical thinking, and data analysis, obtained by teaching them text-based coding science in simplified and interesting methods. HelloCode platform is recognized as the biggest Arab community to teach programming for kids.
The Edtech sector is slowly becoming one of the most growing industries within the MENA VC ecosystem. The sector also grabbed the attention of both consumers and investors with the onset of the pandemic. Following a consecutive 4-year growth in funding for the sector, funding in MENA-based EdTech startups has grown by 525% since 2018, raising stellar rounds in 2021 YTD across geographies. One of the top EdTech players this year has been Jordan-based Abwaab, raising $20M by the likes of BECO Capital following its acquisition of Pakistan-based counterpart Edmatrix.
Hanan Khader, founder, and CEO of Hello World Kids started the company out of a strong belief in children's capabilities to accomplish amazing work if they were given the right tools. She decided to help in providing such tools and teach kids programming through HelloCode. She added, "Our mission is to simplify the coding education for kids, that's why we have created a new programming language, which we called SmoothY; a unique programming language specifically designed for children to serve as a transitional bridge to the command-based programming languages. Once children learn SmoothY, they will be capable of reading and writing code using Python, Java, JavaScript, or any other professional programming languages in the world."
Today, Hello World Kids has over 350,000 projects submitted by kids younger than 12 years old, and over 4 million lines of code recorded by children using SmoothY on the platform. Commenting on their investment, Ahmed Diab, The CEO of Yazeed Al-Rajhi & Brothers Holding and Authorized Manager at Da’am Al-Monsha’at Limited Holding said, “We truly believe in the importance of EduTech ventures, and the unique importance of providing the coming generations with the right tools to build their future skill-set. We could see clearly the big ambition to grow the business, in addition to the true passion for making the learning process of programming a joyful journey for our kids. These factors were the main determinants to invest in Hello World Kids, and lead the investment round.”
Maha AlBalushi, Managing Director at Oman Technology Fund added, “In OTF Wadi we are eager to invest in the Ed-tech sector which aligns with Oman 2040 vision and have a myriad of untapped opportunities that are worth exploration and investment. Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, the EdTech solution grabbed the attention of both the consumers and the investors significantly. Therefore, we are proud to co-lead this round in HWK as we see the right dynamics of the team and a huge potential for expansion and growth.”
Hello World Kids has launched a big awareness campaign targeting the Saudi market with the tagline (Barmej-min-Badri) or (Start-Coding-Early) to emphasize the skills gained by children when they learn coding early, such as creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, and the positive reflection on the kids' personalities. Kais Al-Essa, Founding Partner and CEO of Vision Ventures commented: “I learned programming relatively early, which have highly improved my problem-solving abilities, creativity and confidence. Investing into Hello World Kids empowers Hanan and her team to build the best tools possible for our kids to learn coding in a simple and fun way so they can improve their lives and their chances at participating actively in building the future.”
Hanan concluded by adding that Hello World Company would also be finalizing a new investment round soon to continue their expansion into the Saudi, Egyptian, and Pakistani markets. The purpose of the current round is to kick off the expansion activities in the Saudi market.
source: Wamda
"Stars of Science" program opens the door for participation in its 14th season
07 Dec 2021 Written by Admin AdminStars of Science, the first innovation program in the Arab world - an educational and entertainment TV initiative of Qatar Foundation - enables young Arab innovators to develop technology solutions for their communities with the aim of improving people's well-being, providing investment opportunities in their communities, and advancing sustainable development.
Over the course of 12 weeks, in a race against time, contestants compete to demonstrate the effectiveness of their innovations - solutions to diverse challenges, supported by a team of experienced engineers and product developers.
A panel of experts evaluates the innovations of the participants in this program and excludes the least competitive innovation weekly, within several rounds that include different stages starting from proof of concept, product modeling, and testing, to reach four finalists and compete for a prize of $600,000 USD (special terms and conditions apply program). The final ranking is determined by jury voting and online audience voting.
Stars of Science empowers Arab innovators
The Stars of Science program has a proven track record of empowering young Arab innovators and problem solvers through science, transforming ground-breaking ideas into successful businesses.
Stars of Science serves as an innovation accelerator, as an experiment to promote a culture of innovation, and as a catalyst for social progress across the region.
Stars of Science enhances the entrepreneurship ecosystem across the region.
The program encourages young people between the ages of 15-35 years to sign up via https://www.starsofscience.info/
The Stars of Science program reflects the Arab world's leadership in scientific discovery and innovative thinking, which once again helps make Stars of Science a global leader in innovation. This is in line with Qatar's goal of becoming the preferred destination for innovators in the Arab world.
Stars of Science promotes local and international cooperation that transcends disciplines and borders, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, where digital transformation has become the basis for dealing across sectors, making virtual collaboration around the world the norm today.
Qatar Foundation's Key Messages
Stars of Science is part of the research, development and innovation ecosystem at Qatar Foundation.
The Stars of Science program is a Qatar Foundation media initiative directed at Arab youth.
Stars of Science reflects Qatar Foundation's commitment to investing in people's capabilities and ideas, helping aspiring innovators succeed, and accelerating innovations that can make a difference in people's lives and create future jobs.
Objectives of communication in the 13th case
Emphasizing that the “Stars of Science” program is an initiative launched by Qatar Foundation, and that the Foundation is the owner of this brand, and that the program reflects the Foundation’s commitment to investing in creative ideas and its support for innovation and entrepreneurship, in addition to the position of “Stars of Science” in Qatar Science and Technology Park and within the ecosystem Research, development and innovation.
Highlight the successes of the program through the achievements of Stars of Science graduates, and the development of an entrepreneurial culture.
80 percent of posts are via digital platforms and 20 percent via traditional media.
Encouraging young creators from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab countries and the world to participate in the 14th season of the programme.
Emphasize the status of Stars of Science as a part of Qatar Science and Technology Park.
Priority Topics - Season 13
Effectively rebuilding society after COVID-19, made possible by scientific discoveries and technological capabilities, helps promote healthy living, an eco-friendly economy and comprehensive development.
Focus on the role of Qatar Foundation's innovation ecosystem in the success of Stars of Science graduates.
Focusing on the impact and mission of the "Students for Change" campaign launched by Qatar Foundation and what it represents through the innovators participating in the thirteenth season, in addition to the achievements of the program's graduates.
Continuously increasing the results of past innovations as well as the results of 12 years of operations, networks and partnerships.
أعلن برنامج "نجوم العلوم" عن فتح باب التسجيل للاشتراك في موسمه الـ14 للمبتكرين العرب!
نبذة عن البرنامج
يُمكّن نجوم العلوم، برنامج الابتكار الأول في العالم العربي- وهو مبادرة تلفزيونية تعليمية وترفيهية لمؤسسة قطر- الشباب المبتكرين العرب من تطوير حلول تكنولوجية لمجتمعاتهم بهدف تحسين رفاهية الناس، وتوفير الفرص الاستثمارية في مجتمعاتهم، ودفع عجلة التنمية المستدامة.
على مدى 12 أسبوع، وفي سباق مع الوقت، يتنافس المتسابقون لإظهار فعالية ابتكاراتهم وهي عبارة عن حلول لتحديات متنوعة، يدعمهم في ذلك فريق من المهندسين ذوي الخبرة ومطوّري المنتجات.
تُقيم لجنة من الخبراء ابتكارات المشاركين في هذا البرنامج وتستبعد أسبوعياً الابتكار الأقل تنافسية، وذلك ضمن عدّة جولات تشمل مراحل مختلفة بدءاً من إثبات الفكرة، نمذجة المنتج، واختباره، ليصل أربعة متسابقين إلى التصفيات النهائية ويتنافسوا على جائزة قدرها 600000 دولار أمريكي (تطبق شروط وأحكام خاصة بالبرنامج). يحُدد الترتيب النهائي من خلال تصويت لجنة التحكيم وتصويت الجمهور عبر شبكة الإنترنت.
"نجوم العلوم" يُمكن المبتكرين العرب
يتمتع برنامج "نجوم العلوم" بسجل حافل في تمكين المبتكرين الشباب العرب وحلّ المشكلات عبر العلوم، وتحويل الأفكار الرائد إلى مشاريع وأعمال ناجحة.
يعمل "نجوم العلوم" كمسرّع للابتكار، وكتجربة لتعزيز ثقافة الابتكار، وأيضاً كمحفزّ للتقدّم الاجتماعي عبر المنطقة.
يعزز "نجوم العلوم" النظام الإيكولوجي لريادة الأعمال في جميع أنحاء المنطقة.
يشجع البرنامج الشباب ممن تتراوح أعمارهم بين 15- 35 سنة على الاشتراك عبر https://www.starsofscience.info/ar
يعكس برنامج "نجوم العلوم" ريادة العالم العربي في الاكتشافات العلمية والتفكير الابتكاري، ما يساعد مجدداً على جعل "نجوم العلوم" منصة رائدة عالمياً في مجال الابتكار؛ ويتوافق ذلك مع هدف دولة قطر بأن تصبح الوجهة المفضلة للمبتكرين في العالم العربي.
يُعزز "نجوم العلوم" التعاون المحلي والدولي الذي يتخطّى التخصصات والحدود، خاصة أثناء جائحة كوفيد-19 وما بعدها، حيث أصبح التحول الرقمي أساساً للتعامل عبر القطاعات مما يجعل التعاون الافتراضي في جميع أنحاء العالم هو القاعدة السائدة حالياً.
الرسائل الرئيسية لمؤسسة قطر
نجوم العلوم هو جزء من منظومة البحوث والتطوير والابتكار في مؤسسة قطر.
برنامج نجوم العلوم هو مبادرة إعلامية لمؤسسة قطر موجهة للشباب العربي.
يعكس نجوم العلوم التزام مؤسسة قطر بالاستثمار في قدرات الأفراد وأفكارهم، ومساعدة المبتكرين الطموحين على النجاح، وتسريع الابتكارات التي قد تحدث فرقاً في حياة الناس ويمكن أن توفر وظائف المستقبل.
أهداف التواصل في الموسم الـ13
التأكيد على أن برنامج "نجوم العلوم" هو مبادرة أطلقتها مؤسسة قطر، وأن المؤسسة هي المالك لهذه العلامة التجارية، وأن البرنامج يعكس التزام المؤسسة بالاستثمار في الأفكار الخلاقة ودعمها للابتكار وريادة الأعمال، بالإضافة إلى مكانة "نجوم العلوم" في واحة قطر للعلوم والتكنولوجيا وضمن منظومة البحوث والتطوير والابتكار.
إبراز نجاحات البرنامج من خلال إنجازات خريجي "نجوم العلوم"، وتطوّر ثقافة ريادة الأعمال.
80 في المائة من المشاركات تتم عبر المنصات الرقمية و20 في المائة عبر الوسائط التقليدية.
تشجيع المبدعين الشباب من دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي والدول العربية والعالم على المشاركة في الموسم 14 من البرنامج.
التأكيد على مكانة نجوم العلوم كجزء من واحة قطر للعلوم والتكنولوجيا.
موضوعات ذات أولوية- خاص بالموسم 13
إعادة بناء المجتمع بشكل فعال بعد كوفيد- 19 والتي أصبحت ممكنة بفضل الاكتشافات العلمية والإمكانيات التكنولوجية، ما يساعد على تعزيز الحياة الصحية والاقتصاد الصديق للبيئة والتنمية الشاملة.
التركيز على دور منظومة الابتكار الخاصة بمؤسسة قطر في نجاح خريجي نجوم العلوم.
التركيز على أثر حملة "طلاب التغيير" التي أطلقتها مؤسسة قطر ورسالتها وما تمثله من خلال المبتكرين المشاركين في الموسم الثالث عشر، بالإضافة إلى إنجازات خريجي البرنامج.
الزيادة المستمرة لنتائج الابتكارات الماضية بالإضافة إلى نتائج 12 عاماً من العمليات والشبكات والشراكات.
Top Startup Deals in Middle East and North Africa in October 2021
30 Nov 2021 Written by Admin AdminTranslation By: Fairouz Alnajem
According to the available data, the funding deals for startups in the Middle East and North Africa in October were lower compared to last September, which recorded a great number of the total volume of funding deals for startups, with an estimated amount of $ 338 million.
But what is worth noting in October is the quality of funding deals in which two relatively large deals in the agricultural and medical technology sectors emerged, along with two deals for two female-led companies, with a total funding for both of them amounting to $3.8 million, equivalent to about 46% of the total funding raised by female-led startups in the Middle East and North Africa in the first half of 2021
Here we review the top 5 funding deals raised by startups in the Middle East and North Africa during October:
Pure Harvest
Sector: Agricultural technology
Country: UAE
Establishment Date: 2016
Founders: Sky Kurtz, Mahmoud Adi and Robert Kupstas.
In October, Pure Harvest raised $ 64.5 million in funding, topping the list of startups that received funding for the same period. The total investments received by the company after its latest funding round amounted to about $ 271.6 million, which is the largest amount raised by a startup in the agricultural technology sector in the Middle East and North Africa, according to Wamda Inst.
According to the company's press release, it will use the new funding to develop its technology and accelerate its business expansion in the Middle East and North Africa region. Noting that the company's latest funding round was led by the Korean IMM Investment company, along with a number of investors and the company's current management.
Cura
Sector: medical technology
Country: Saudi Arabia
Establishment Date: 2016
Founders: Wael Kabli and Muhammad Zikrullah.
Cura Saudi Arabia, the leading online telemedicine consultancy, succeeded in raising its first funding round of $ 4 million, led by Wa’ed, the entrepreneurial arm of Saudi Aramco, and ELM.
According to Cura’s press release, it will invest the funds of the funding round in improving the patient’s journey and providing more services to both individual users, customers, and partners, such as collecting blood samples from home and providing health benefits to employees that can be integrated with insurance companies, in addition to Cura’s pursuit of expansion outside KSA. Despite the medical company’s leadership in the field of health technology, about 95% of its current customers are users of the application in Saudi Arabia.
ILLA
Sector: Logistics
Country: Egypt
Establishment Date: 2019
Founders: Mahmoud Al-Zumar, Alaa Jarkas, Ahmed Saqr and Hussam Saraya.
The Egyptian ILLA Logistics Services Company has raised more than two million US dollars in a funding round led by "Watheeq Financial Services" and "Golden Pam" Investments, with a number of other investors participated in the round.
ILLA is developing the supply chain activities of the post-production operations of consumer goods brands. The company will use the round funds to accelerate its expansion in the Egyptian market and enhance users' experience.
Fintech Galaxy
Sector: Fintech
Country: UAE
Establishment Date: 2018
Founder: Mirna Suleiman
In October, the Fintech Galaxy platform raised $ 2 million in an initial funding round, led by Jordanian AHLI Bank along with other investors.
Fintech Galaxy enables integration between financial technology startups and financial institutions by providing access to customer data from partner banks through open banking APIs, allowing developers to create new applications and services.
According to the company's press release, the new funding will help it promote the development and spread of the open funding platform, as well as expand its activity in key Middle Eastern markets.
Getbee
Getbee raised about $1.8 million in a pre-Series A round led by Altitude Capital, B&Y Venture Partners, VC+, and strategic Angel Investors.
Getbee is active in connecting brands with their customers online through live video call consultations.
According to the company's press release, the latter will benefit from the funding round to accelerate its credibility with the leading retail brands market
Translation by: Fairouz Alnajem
The UAE-based company iWire, specialized in Internet of Things technologies (IoT), has raised a series (A) $34-million funding round led by the UAE Company Noor Capital, with the participation from the French public investment bank Bpifrance.
Accelerating growth and developing products
The new investment is aimed at helping the company develop its products more rapidly to expand geographically and reach 12 new countries over the coming years, developing its infrastructure to cover these countries and moving towards IoT technologies.
In the company's press release, Ahmed Fasih Akhter, CEO, iWire, said: "At iWire, we provide our customers an alternative to legacy connectivity solutions, which enables a successful digital transformation at a lower cost. Our solutions contribute to our customers’ business efficiencies as well as their satisfaction with our services. This investment is just the beginning of our journey and a great demonstration that we are following the right approach. We are proud to have the trust of such an investor and will continue expanding our network and products to transform the digital infrastructure in the region. "
Jeremy Prince, CEO of Sigfox, added: "Companies and organizations around the world are embracing IoT and 0G (a practical complement to broadband networks to operate simple Internet applications for functions such as asset tracking) to change the way they operate. We're delighted to have a great company like iWire amongst our significant community of Sigfox clients.
Our unique international network already allows customers to benefit from 0G seamlessly in more than 72 countries. iWire offers new markets with huge potential and we look forward to a very successful collaboration."
About iWire
Founded in 2018 by Vyomesh Thakkar, Ahmed Fasih Akhter, and Firoz Karumannil, iWire focuses on building public communications infrastructure that supports the IoT in UAE, to enable digital transformation at a lower cost.
iWire builds communication networks to power massive IoT solutions, providing wide-scale services to companies, smart cities, smart facilities, and logistics service providers with high elasticity
Egypt's health tech startup Bypa-ss secures $1mln in Pre-Seed funding
06 Nov 2021 Written by Admin AdminThe funding will be used to expand the customer base and healthcare network
Egypt's health tech startup Bypa-ss has closed a $1 million Pre-Seed funding round from Egyptian and foreign investors, with participation from Magic Fund, Acuity Ventures, Launch Africa, Plug and Play, and other regional and international venture capital funds (VCs).
The funding will be used to expand the customer base and healthcare network of its HealthTag platform for storing and sharing medical records, the company said in a press release.
Bypa-ss was founded in 2019 in Shebin El Kom, Menofia, and is now offering services to its members across Egypt. The startup has been accelerated and backed by Falak Startups' investment.
source: Zaway
Tarabut Gateway raises $12 million pre-Series A led by Tiger Global
06 Nov 2021 Written by Admin AdminUAE-based open banking platform Tarabut Gateway has raised $12 million in a pre-Series A round led by Tiger Global, alongside new investor Dubai International Fintech Fund, the investment vehicle of Dubai’s International Financial Centre (DIFC). This latest investment adds to fintech’s $13 million Seed round raised in February this year.
Founded in Bahrain in 2019 by Abdulla Almoayed, Tarabut Gateway connects a regional network of banks and fintechs via a universal application programming interface (API).
It was the first startup to graduate from Bahrain Central Bank’s regulatory sandbox and now has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London and Manama.
The investment will be used to grow the Tarabut Gateway’s tech and leadership teams.
Press release:
Tarabut Gateway, the Dubai-headquartered Open Banking platform, has concluded a seed round of $13 million and pre-series-A funding round of $12 million led by Tiger Global in the last eight months.
Tarabut Gateway’s solutions allow financial institutions and fintechs to leverage Open Banking to scale their businesses across the region. Tarabut Gateway welcomes new investors including the Dubai International Fintech Fund, the Investment Vehicle of Dubai’s International Financial Center (DIFC).
The investment follows Tiger Global’s most recent investment in other Open Banking Players across the globe including Truelayer in the UK and Mono in Africa. Since its inception in 2001, Tiger Global has made investments into 30 countries around the globe in key startup regions such as India, Asia and further afield.
As the first licensed Account Information Service Provider (AISP) and Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, Tarabut Gateway is fulfilling its mission to facilitate the creation and distribution of personalised financial services for banks and fintechs, as well as their end-users.
John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global Management said; “People are increasingly sophisticated in how they utilise their money, and in a marketplace rife with such exciting growth such as the MENA region, we worked hard to find a company on the ground that shared our vision. With its understanding of the different markets in the region and a proven track record of innovation, we are delighted to have had the opportunity to invest in Tarabut Gateway.
We have followed Abdulla and his team for some time and are excited about the opportunity and potential that Open Banking presents in the MENA region.”
Abdulla Almoayed, Tarabut Gateway’s founder and CEO highlighted; “The MENA region is a complex web of countries and regulations. This makes it a challenging area to serve with any single overarching financial product whilst remaining compliant in a highly developed landscape with many differing markets.
I’m glad to say this round is living proof that Tarabut Gateway is successfully pioneering in developing a cutting-edge solution for banks and fintechs in the region.”
In February 2021, Tarabut Gateway raised $13 million in seed investment, the largest seed round in the MENA region for a fintech company. This pre–Series A doubles down on the company's credentials, spurring it forward to serve millions more potential customers in this diverse region.
