Startup Researcher - Middle East: Week 26, 2024

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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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Let's delve into the core sections of our weekly newsletter:

• 💸 Top Funding Rounds

• 🏦 About Investors

• 📈 Deep Dive Bites

• 🚀 Startup Of the Week

• 💼 Investor of the Week

• 🤑 Opportunity Radar

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• UAE-based fintech Comfi secured a $5 million debt facility from an undisclosed Abu Dhabi-based private family office to expand its embedded BNPL solution.
  

• Alsaree3, one of Iraq’s fastest-growing food and last-mile delivery services, closed a seven-figure Series A funding round from investors including Iraq Venture Partners (IVP), Euphrates Ventures, and Snoonu.
  

• Sweply, a Saudi ad tech company, raised $2 million in a Seed funding round to expand its team, accelerate product development, and enhance its position in the Arab and global markets, leveraging AI and machine learning for optimized ad placements and enhanced engagement.

🏦 About Investors

• Mubadala Capital led a $50 million Series B extension funding round for US-based Iambic Therapeutics to advance its clinical and pre-clinical programs. Additionally, it announced that it will acquire a controlling stake in Getir’s domestic grocery and food business in Turkey, leading to a $250 million capital infusion as part of a restructuring plan.
  

• Smpl Holdings has launched a $10 million venture capital fund named Smpl Fund I to support tech startups in the MENA region, focusing on technology and artificial intelligence companies across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond.

📈 Deep Dive Bites

Discover how Kuwaiti startups are thriving with the support of leading incubators and accelerators. From comprehensive programs like Brilliant Scale and Cubical Services to specialized initiatives like Inspire U and Health Tech 2024, these organizations are pivotal in driving innovation and growth. Click here to read more about the dynamic ecosystem fostering entrepreneurship in Kuwait.

🚀 Startup Of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Comfi

Comfi, founded in 2023 by Alisher Akbarov, Amal Abdullaev, and Sanjar Samiev, is a UAE-based fintech company that offers a B2B payments platform providing flexible payment terms while ensuring upfront payments for vendors. The company recently secured a $5 million debt facility from an Abu Dhabi-based private family office to support the rollout of its embedded buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solution, aimed at enhancing B2B transactions in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Comfi’s solution enables vendors to offer credit terms of up to 90 days, facilitating an estimated $40 million in transactions over the next year.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Smpl Holdings

Smpl Holdings, distinct from the pharmaceutical company Smpl Group, has launched Smpl Fund I, a $10 million venture capital fund aimed at supporting technology and artificial intelligence startups in the MENA region. The fund will focus on investing in innovative tech companies across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Mohammad Abu Sheikh, a founding partner at Smpl Holdings, highlights the UAE's favorable environment for startups as a key factor in the fund's strategic focus.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Growth X Accelerator - Cohort 5

Join Microsoft's Growth X accelerator cohort 5! This 8-week, equity-free program for AI startups offers virtual workshops, curated mentor panels, and $150,000 in Azure credits. With support from Microsoft and Abu Dhabi Investment Office, scale your AI solutions with expert guidance and access to investors. Apply by September 2nd for a chance to participate in this transformative opportunity.