{"id":49125,"date":"2025-07-21T21:36:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T18:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/?p=49125"},"modified":"2025-07-21T21:36:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T18:36:46","slug":"fintech-and-tech-deals-take-the-lead-how-startup-investments-shifted-in-q3-of-july-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/2025\/07\/fintech-and-tech-deals-take-the-lead-how-startup-investments-shifted-in-q3-of-july-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Fintech and Tech Deals Take the Lead: How Startup Investments Shifted in Q3 of July 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">From Saudi Arabia to Morocco, and from intelligent savings to Arabic AI\u2014here are the top deals and ecosystem moves between July 13\u201320, 2025<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">A Packed Week Kicks Off Q3: Strategic Funding and Innovation on the Rise<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">This report, published by EntArabi, is part of a series tracking innovation and investment across the region. It covers the period from July 13 to July 20, 2025\u2014the opening days of Q3.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">During this week, startup activity surged across key MENA markets, particularly in fintech, artificial intelligence, alternative finance, and e-commerce. Saudi Arabia stood out as the most active country, both in terms of deal volume and initiative diversity.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">The Numbers: Weekly Overview<\/h2>\n<table class=\" alignleft\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Country<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Deals \/ Initiatives<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Estimated Value<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Key Sectors<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\u00a0Saudi Arabia<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>$102.5M+<\/td>\n<td>Fintech, AI, Alternative Finance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\u00a0Egypt<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>Several million dollars<\/td>\n<td>Fintech \u2013 Smart Saving<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Morocco<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>$7.5M<\/td>\n<td>E-commerce, Digital Payments<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\u00a0Lebanon<\/td>\n<td>1 (media initiative)<\/td>\n<td>Not yet funded<\/td>\n<td>Entrepreneurial Media<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\u00a0USA (reference)<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>$100M<\/td>\n<td>Paid Content \u2013 Digital Media<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Saudi Arabia Leads: Strategic Funding and Accelerators in Line with Vision 2030<\/h2>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>Alinma Bank and Falak Investment Hub launched the AmadTech accelerator, targeting:\n<ul>\n<li>20 fintech startups and 15 intellectual properties.<\/li>\n<li>Aimed at driving digital transformation in finance, with support from Fintech Saudi and Mawhiba.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>ai, a Saudi-based AI company, raised $1.5M in a pre-seed round:\n<ul>\n<li>To advance Arabic conversational AI covering more than 25 dialects.<\/li>\n<li>The startup is headquartered in Riyadh with offices in Dubai and Cairo, serving both public and private sector clients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Sukna Capital launched the region\u2019s first Shariah-compliant direct lending fund:\n<ul>\n<li>Targeting over $100M in assets.<\/li>\n<li>Aims to provide non-dilutive financing to SMEs using asset-backed credit.<\/li>\n<li>The move responds to a gap in SME lending, which accounts for only 1% of total bank credit in Saudi Arabia\u2014far below the Vision 2030 target of 20%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Egypt Bets on Smart Saving and a Digitally Fluent Generation<\/h2>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>Palm, a goal-based savings platform, raised a multi-million-dollar round:\n<ul>\n<li>Led by 4DX Ventures and joined by Plus VC.<\/li>\n<li>Offers smart investment tools across fixed income, equities, and precious metals.<\/li>\n<li>Plans to expand across Mediterranean markets.<\/li>\n<li>Focuses on building healthy financial habits and democratizing saving.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Morocco Strengthens Its E-commerce and Digital Payments Infrastructure<\/h2>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>ORA Technologies closed a $7.5M Series A round led by Azur Innovation Fund:\n<ul>\n<li>To scale last-mile delivery and boost adoption of ORA Cash, its mobile wallet solution.<\/li>\n<li>ORA operates:\n<ul>\n<li>Kooul \u2013 a fast-growing food delivery app.<\/li>\n<li>ORA Cash \u2013 a flexible digital wallet for payments and money transfers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Founder Omar Alami said the deal signals growing investor confidence in Morocco\u2019s tech ecosystem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Lebanon Enters the Entrepreneurial Media Scene<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>The Lebanese version of Shark Tank officially launched on LBCI:\n<ul>\n<li>Offers local entrepreneurs real-time investor access and the potential to secure funding.<\/li>\n<li>Produced in partnership with Different Productions, with open applications via email and phone.<\/li>\n<li>A cultural milestone that may inspire broader entrepreneurial engagement despite Lebanon\u2019s economic challenges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Substack Joins the Unicorn Club: A Global Case Study for Content Monetization<\/h2>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>US-based Substack raised $100M, reaching a $1.1B valuation.<\/li>\n<li>Expanded its platform to include audio, livestreaming, and interactive features such as \u201cNotes\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>The move reflects rising demand for paid, creator-led content and the global rise of independent media ecosystems.<\/li>\n<li>The company rebounded after scaling back operations in 2023, proving resilience and strong investor belief in its model.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">Top Sector Trends: July 13\u201320, 2025<\/h2>\n<table class=\" alignleft\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Sector<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Activity Count<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Total Funding (Est.)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Fintech<\/td>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>$10M+ (combined)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Alternative Finance<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>$100M (targeted)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Artificial Intelligence<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>$1.5M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>E-commerce \/ Logistics<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>$7.5M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Media &amp; Ecosystem<\/td>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>N\/A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Analytical Takeaways and Forward Outlook<\/h2>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li>Saudi Arabia continues to dominate the regional startup narrative, combining funding with infrastructure and ecosystem development.<\/li>\n<li>Fintech remains the most active sector across MENA, particularly solutions that blend digital finance with behavioral incentives.<\/li>\n<li>Arabic AI is an emerging force with global potential, especially in voice, dialects, and enterprise applications.<\/li>\n<li>Media entrepreneurship and platform-led funding models (e.g., Shark Tank Lebanon) may spark new investment interest in underserved markets.<\/li>\n<li>Content monetization models, as exemplified by Substack, highlight untapped opportunities for Arabic-language digital platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This report, published by EntArabi, is part of a series tracking innovation and investment across the region. It covers the period from July 13 to July 20, 2025\u2014the opening days of Q3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":49141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1772,8850],"tags":[9065,9054,3602,4138,9063,9064,5258,9034],"class_list":["post-49125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startups","category-venture","tag-4dx-ventures-en","tag-alinma-bank","tag-falak-investment-hub","tag-fintech-saudi","tag-ora-cash","tag-palm","tag-plus-vc","tag-wittify-ai"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}