Arab News, Sun, Mar 24, 2024 | Ramadan 14, 1445
Early-stage startups across the MENA region secure funding rounds
Saudi Arabia:
Startups throughout the Middle East and North Africa region are experiencing a
surge in funding, significantly energizing the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Across diverse locales such as Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain, and Tunisia, early-stage companies have successfully attracted pre-seed
and seed investments this week, propelling their development and expansion.
Saudi Arabia-based food tech startup Barakah
successfully raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by German-based
VC FoodLabs, marking the venture capital firm’s inaugural investment in the MENA
region.
Co-founded in 2022 by Rabah Habiss and Abdulaziz
Al-Saud, Barakah is dedicated to combating food waste by enabling restaurants,
bakeries, and groceries to sell their excess inventory via its app.
This recent financial boost is set to accelerate
Barakah’s expansion within Saudi Arabia and into neighboring Gulf Cooperation
Council markets, following a $1.5 million seed round in September led by the
Hambro Perks Oryx Fund.
Christophe Maire, founder and managing partner at
Food Labs, commented on the partnership, saying, “Barakah's model is beneficial
for customers, retail partners, and the planet. We are supporting a brilliant
team with ambitions to expand throughout the GCC and achieve global success with
top Saudi tech talent.”
Since its inception, Barakah is now operational
across six Saudi cities and has sold over 400 thousand meals that would have
otherwise been discarded.
Bahrain’s Receiptable raises pre-seed round
In Bahrain, fintech startup Receiptable has
garnered a pre-seed funding round from HP Spring Studios, backed by the Al Waha
Fund of Funds and Hambro Perks.
Founded by Chris Purdie in 2022, Receiptable aims
to bridge the information gap between banks and retailers by providing digital
receipts directly to consumers’ mobile phones.
The company intends to leverage the new funds to
attract talent, enhance its platform, and debut its service in partnership with
a leading Bahraini bank.
“With the support from HP Spring Studios,
Receiptable is poised to enhance the post-purchase retail experience, make our
existing banking apps a daily touchpoint, and significantly reduce the billion
paper receipts produced annually in Bahrain,” Purdie said.
“This investment is not just a financial boost;
it’s a potent catalyst for tech innovation and talent cultivation, right here in
our Bahrain base. It also presents a great opportunity for us to utilize HP
Spring Studio’s regional network and access to banking and fintech experts,” he
added.
Egypt’s healthtech Pharmacy Marts secures
six-figure bridge round
Egyptian healthtech Pharmacy Marts has secured a
six-figure bridge funding round led by Acasia Ventures.
Established in 2021 by Ahmed Kadous and his
co-founders, the B2B digital marketplace connects pharmacies and medical
suppliers, facilitating easy access to medicines, products, and cosmetics.
“The distribution of medication in Egypt is not
reliable or smooth, but rather plagued with the inconsistent availability of
products across pharmacies and geographical areas, leading to a shortage in
medication,” Kadous said.
“This ultimately impacts the patients who need the
medication and makes the life of a pharmacist rather difficult. We are excited
about having Acasia Ventures on board, given its great presence in African
markets that we are planning to enter, as well as their solid network of
advisors and experts in the pharmaceutical industry,” he added.
With coverage of 20 percent of Egypt’s market and
over 200 suppliers, Pharmacy Marts is on a rapid growth trajectory, having
raised a total of $2 million to date.
Egyptian healthtech InCurA secures pre-seed round
Egypt-based healthtech InCurA has raised a notable
pre-seed round from a consortium of regional investors, including Tiye Angels
and KAUST Innovation Ventures.
Founded by Wessam Sarhan and Moussa Salem in 2021,
InCurA specializes in biomedical technologies, focusing on bleeding control
solutions.
This funding round, a milestone for Egypt’s first
female private individuals investment network Tiye Angels, will support InCurA’s
mission to democratize healthcare access and fuel its expansion efforts.
“We are thrilled to announce our first investment
in InCurA,” said Christine Sedky, Tiye Angels Network Manager.
“The company has a talented team, holds
intellectual property rights for its products, has established licensing and
manufacturing partnerships, and has a clear vision for addressing a critical
need in the medical devices market. We are confident in InCurA’s potential
growth and the positive impact it will have on the Egyptian and regional
economies,” she added
ClusterLab secures $600k in a pre-seed round
ClusterLab, an artificial intelligence startup
originated in Tunisia and now headquartered in the UAE, has raised $600,000 in a
pre-seed round from investors including Karim Beguir, CEO of InstaDeep – another
company operating in the sector.
Co-founders Haithem Kchaou and Chehir Dhaouadi
launched ClusterLab in 2020 to offer advanced AI and natural language processing
technologies.
“Our expertise in technology goes beyond the
current wave of large language models,” says Kchaou.
“We've been pioneers in utilizing NLP to
revolutionize content summarization well before it became mainstream,” he
added.
The fresh capital is earmarked for bolstering the
startup’s research and development initiatives, setting the stage for further
innovation in the AI domain.
“The coming months hold immense potential. We’re
eager to showcase the depth of our technological advancements to the public,
particularly through the large-scale deployment of our AI solutions,” Dhaouadi
said.