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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Middle East, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌍

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📰 Important News

• Qatar Central Bank granted its first Buy Now Pay Later license to PayLater to boost fintech innovation and digital payments.

• Microenterprises make up 82% of UAE businesses, benefiting from exemptions for revenues under $100,000 as the government refines its framework.

• Uber has partnered with WeRide and Dubai’s RTA to launch self-driving vehicles as part of Dubai’s goal for 25% autonomous trips by 2030.

• MSME loans in Saudi Arabia surged 27.6% in 2024 to $93.8 billion driven by government support and fintech partnerships.

• UAE topped the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024–2025 for the 4th year, driven by strong policies, huge investments, and a thriving ecosystem.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• UAE-based Fuse raised $6.6 million in seed funding led by Northzone to expand its cross-border payment platform offering virtual IBANs and digital financial services across the MENA region.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Maseera Holding acquired Egypt’s Adva to boost financial inclusion using AI-driven consumer financing as part of 2 Point Zero Group’s $1 billion global strategy targeting underserved communities.

🏦 About Investors

• Aramco’s Prosperity7 Ventures has led a $73 million Pre-series A funding round in China’s Spirit AI to support early-stage financing in embodied intelligence technology.

🚀 Startup of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Fuse

UAE-based fintech startup Fuse, founded in 2023 by George Davis and James Smith, raised $6.6 million in seed funding led by Northzone to expand its cross-border payments platform, offering virtual IBANs and digital financial services across the MENA region. The company enables global businesses to simplify payments and avoid local entity requirements by providing infrastructure-grade solutions such as USD-denominated virtual accounts and local UAE IBANs. With this funding, Fuse aims to enhance its platform and expand services into more MENA countries, addressing the region’s complex payment challenges and growing demand for seamless financial solutions.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Prosperity7 Ventures

Prosperity7 Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, led a $73 million Pre-series A funding round in Spirit AI, a Chinese AI startup focused on embodied intelligence technology. Founded in 2019 and based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Prosperity7 Ventures is part of Aramco Ventures and focuses on transforming industries through technology investments. The funding will help accelerate Spirit AI’s development of large model agents, robotics innovation, and talent expansion as it aims to bring advanced robotics into millions of homes.

 🤑 Opportunity Radar

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