During the past week, specifically between February 8 and 15, the Middle East and Africa region witnessed notable momentum in startup investments and acquisitions, with total disclosed investments exceeding $575.8 million.
According to EntArabi’s weekly report issued in the third week of February under the title “Startup Investments and Acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa”, the period recorded strong activity across venture capital funding, strategic acquisitions, and the launch of specialized funds.
The activity was largely concentrated in sectors including fintech, artificial intelligence, logistics, defense, and sustainability, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates emerging as the most active markets.
Key Deals
- Uber: acquired delivery operations of Getir for $335 million in cash, alongside an additional $100 million investment for a 15% stake.
- HUMAIN:, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, launched HUMAIN Sport following the acquisition of a controlling stake in ai.io, aiming to develop AI-powered sports solutions locally and globally.
- MASNA Ventures: launched a $100 million fund, marking the first venture capital fund in Saudi Arabia dedicated exclusively to the defense sector.
- Simplified Financial Solutions: raised $20 million in a Series A round to accelerate the growth of its expense management platform in the Saudi market.
- UAE-based platform ThrowMeNot closed a $550,000 pre-seed round to support digital solutions aimed at reducing food waste.
- Routech Express: raised SAR 3.75 million in a pre-seed round to support expansion and technical development.
Investments and Acquisitions by Country
| Country | Number of Deals | Key Companies | Total Investment Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 5 | HUMAIN Sport, MASNA Ventures, InvestSky, Simplified Financial, Saqqah Financial, Routech Express | ≈ $140.2 million |
| Turkey | 1 | Uber × Getir | $435 million |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 | ThrowMeNot, AlgoDriven | $0.55 million |
| Total | 6 disclosed deals | — | ≈ $575.8 million |
Investments and Acquisitions by Sector
| Sector | Number of Deals | Key Companies | Total Investment Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery & Logistics | 1 | Uber × Getir | $435 million |
| Defense & Advanced Industries | 1 | MASNA Ventures Fund I | $100 million |
| FinTech | 4 | Simplified Financial, InvestSky, Saqqah Financial | ≈ $39.2 million |
| Sustainability & FoodTech | 1 | ThrowMeNot | $0.55 million |
| Digital Logistics | 1 | Routech Express | ≈ $1 million |
| Total | 6 disclosed deals | — | ≈ $575.8 million |
