News
- Iraq-based super app Baly, backed by Germany’s Rocket Internet has closed a Seed round of $10.5 million from Kingsway Capital, MSA Capital, Global Founders Capital, Vostok Ventures, Majid Al Futtaim and March Holding. It is the largest financing round for an Iraqi startup and Rocket Internet’s first foray into the country.
- Founded in 2021 by Munqith Alazzawi and Matteo Mantovani, Baly launched its first ride-hailing service in Baghdad last month. It plans to launch additional services like food and grocery delivery over the next few weeks.Super apps have been gaining traction across the Middle East, attracting $158 million in investment in 2021.
Press release:
Baly, Iraq’s first superapp, announced today the closing of the largest seed round in the tech history of Iraq. The company, backed by Germany’s Rocket internet, raised USD 10.5 million from Kingsway Capital, MSA Capital, Global Founders Capital, Vostok Ventures, Majid Al Futtaim and March Holding. The amount and the class of participating investors signals strong confidence in the team and model in a still nascent market.
Baly launched ride-hailing as its first service in Baghdad last month, and already boasts thousands of rides each day. In the next few weeks, additional services, like food and grocery delivery, will go live and Baly will expand to cover more cities in the country.
Arnd Lodowicks, CFO of Rocket Internet, stated: “Baly is for us a world class team in an extremely exciting and promising market. We are looking forward to supporting the company on its mission to become the leading super app of Iraq.”
Founding team member Munqith Alazzawi said: “We are thrilled to announce the closure of our first funding round, just weeks after launch. These funds will accelerate our expansion across the country and support the start of further business lines including food-delivery in the coming weeks.”
According to the company, Baly has already attracted more than 70 employees, including some of the best local and global talent from McKinsey, INSEAD, Cambridge University, Baghdad University and Tsinghua University.
Managing Director Matteo Mantovani highlighted: “Iraq is home to 40 million people, with over 90 per cent smartphone penetration amongst those aged 17-40. With a young, urbanised population, it is the perfect place to revolutionise the economy through digital services.”
Surce: Wamda
- Egypt-based social commerce platform Brimore has raised a $25 million Series A round, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Endure Capital, with participation from Fawry, Flourish, Endeavor Catalyst Fund and the startup's existing investors including Algebra Ventures, Disruptech, Khawarizmi Ventures and Vision Ventures. This marks the IFC's first-ever direct investment into an Egyptian startup.
- Founded in 2017 by Mohamed Abdulaziz, Ahmed Sheikha, and Mahmoud Refaay, Brimore enables small businesses to get their product out to the mass market by connecting them with to wide network of distributors across Egypt.
- The company plans to deploy the funding to expand its product offerings, grow network suppliers and accelerate its expansion across Africa.
Press release
Brimore, Egypt’s largest social commerce platform, has closed its Series A round of $25M, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Endure Capital with participation from Fawry, Flourish, Endeavor Catalyst Fund and existing Brimore investors including Algebra Ventures, Disruptech, Khawarizmi Ventures and Vision Ventures. The fresh funds will be used to grow its products and suppliers and expand across the continent to become the leading social commerce app of Africa.
Three years into its foundation, Brimore was able to grow 400x, build a massive network of almost 75,000 resellers to cover 27 cities within Egypt, with a focus on rural and remote areas. Brimore uses its unique infrastructure and proprietary technology to avail market penetration opportunities to emerging brands owners. Brimore enables its sellers, who are mostly women, to unlock an alternative and flexible income method and become local business leaders through their custom solutions of online and offline sales channels.
The new capital will fuel Brimore’s growth within the next year, growing its network of sellers and suppliers 4x, doubling the number of its employees and increasing the number of products sold three-fold. By 2023, Brimore aims to operate in three countries and strengthen its physical logistics capabilities.
“In the past three years, we’ve focused on building a smart and reliable infrastructure that enables the masses to do their commerce businesses, wherever they are, and whatever they have,” said Mohamed Abdulaziz, Brimore’s CEO and Co-Founder. “We’ll be using the fresh fund to scale our infrastructure, enabling many more people to continue their journey of 50x growth by 2023, and opening this gate of hope and opportunity to other people in African markets.
Ahmed Sheikha, Chief Business and Investment Officer and Co-Founder at Brimore added: “Our ambition is to create a global model where market access is democratized through the power of people. Our promise is that we will use technology, operations and creative financing models to make it true.” Brimore isn't only about online reselling, it commoditizes trust, allowing brands to reach all types of audiences, and helps resellers sell online and offline, especially in areas with minimal internet penetration.
Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Egypt, said: “IFC is excited to support Brimore as a leader in social commerce in Egypt. This is our largest direct investment in social commerce so far,” said Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Egypt. “IFC’s co-lead investment in Brimore aims to help the platform continue to democratize access to e-commerce, increase economic opportunities for women, and support the development of the local manufacturing sector in the country.”
Tarek Fahim, Managing Partner at Endure Capital, said: “Every decade, comes a company that fuses technology, operations excellence, and human capital to unlock unprecedented impact and value. We are proud to be Brimore's first and continuous partner in their mission of building the infrastructure and technology for social commerce in Egypt and Africa, to change the lives of their partners, especially women who aspire for a better future for themselves and their families.”
Tarek Assaad, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures said: “As Brimore experienced explosive growth over the past three years, Algebra has worked closely with the company to support in strategic and operational areas, especially recruitment, which is a key area of focus at Algebra. We came in on the first round of investment and invested in every subsequent round, to ensure that the growth momentum stays on track. We are delighted to see such a strong group of investors, many of whom have co-invested with us in the past, coming into the company. I am humbled by how Mohamed and Ahmed have grown as leaders and continue to drive the execution and vision of the company forward.”
Computer scientist Mohammed Alsolami, 35, is on a mission to provide just that with his startup company Robotics LLC
As Saudi Arabia weans itself off a dependence on oil in favor of a more diversified and innovative economy and culture, there is a need for one asset above all: knowledge.
Specifically, knowledge of the STEM subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, and their practical application in daily life.
Computer scientist Mohammed Alsolami, 35, is on a mission to provide just that with his startup company Robotics LLC.
Alsolami founded Robotics in 2014 in the US state of Maryland, where he was conducting doctoral research into the use of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things for crowd control, having already gained no less than three master’s degrees from multiple US institutions.
In 2019 he registered a sister company with the same name in Riyadh.
Alsolami is something of an ideas machine. He developed a wrist-worn device which guides an individual through crowded spaces, keeping them in contact with their friends and family while warning of over-congested areas — useful in Makkah during the Hajj season. He also created an ‘agri-tech’ sensor which provides home-growers and farmers with essential data as to when plants and crops need to be irrigated.
However, Alsolami’s present commercial focus is on the training of young people, aged eight to 22, in the construction and manipulation of robots.
His training programs, 12 days in duration, were first launched in Makkah with face-to-face classes of no more than 15 students, using curriculum licensed from Woz U — the tech training institute established by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak — and other academic sources. All his courses are translated into Arabic, making them accessible to any young Saudi.
In 2020 Alsolami’s enterprise was hit by the COVID 19 epidemic, bringing live training sessions to a sudden halt. But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was able to launch his classes online and achieve much more rapid growth, with both trainers and trainees located across the Kingdom.
Robotics shifted its HQ to Riyadh and presently operates with nine full-time staff along with some forty freelance trainers. The company has delivered over 400 courses to both individual and institutional clients, the latter including the Kingdom’s Royal Commission schools.
Alsolami and his team are now working hard to make the courses fully automated. “The whole operation should be online by April of this year”, he told Arab News. “Clients will be able to select, pay for and take their course via an online dashboard, the only human contact being with the actual trainer, who will also be online.”
While grounding youngsters in AI and IoT, Alsolami’s courses develop important life skills such as teamwork and leadership — because building and programming a robot, for example to throw a ball, is normally a collaborative activity.
Because of Covid restrictions, trainees currently work individually, but hopefully once the epidemic has passed, they can form groups in a physical location to build a single, more ambitious robot and enter local and international robotics competitions as a team.
Currently delivering courses to about one thousand trainees per annum, Robotics has turnover of about SR1 million ($270,000). Revenue comes from two sources: course fees — SR1,000 per head — and the online sale of robotics kits, with the hardware currently being sourced from China.
“We’re now looking for pre-seed investment of about $1 million. That will help us to develop the online dashboard, build up our operation to 20,000 clients annually by mid-2025, and to produce our own robotics kits here in the Kingdom and on a much larger scale.”
Alsolami is confident of achieving this. Most parents he surveyed share his belief that educating young people in amateur robotics will help prepare them for the Kingdom’s future ‘smart’ economy.
“Education always pays the best interest”, Alsolami says. “And with Vision 2030, we at Robotics are focused on building the capacity and supporting the talent of our leaders of tomorrow. This is our KPI and our vision. And this is how we hope to serve our country and serve the world.”
Source: zawya
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
