\nCountry<\/strong><\/td>\nNo. of Deals<\/strong><\/td>\nKey Notes<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n\n| Saudi Arabia<\/td>\n | 4+<\/td>\n | Significant FinTech and digital infrastructure growth<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Egypt<\/td>\n | 3+<\/td>\n | Ongoing support for startups and regulatory clarity<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Oman<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n | Emerging players in digital and smart food innovation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Ghana<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | Major FinTech deal highlighting West Africa\u2019s rise<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| UAE<\/td>\n | 1 (via Sunbolah)<\/td>\n | Strategic partner in Agri\/Food innovation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nKey Market Trends:<\/h2>\n\n- Ongoing rise of AI solutions in marketing, banking, and procurement.<\/li>\n
- Growing regional investor interest (e.g., Shorooq, Attijariwafa Ventures).<\/li>\n
- Global acquisitions like Amazon\u2019s deal with Bee signal regional startup maturity.<\/li>\n
- Financial inclusion and digitization remain core growth drivers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- \n
Deals by Sector<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nSector<\/strong><\/td>\nNo. of Deals<\/strong><\/td>\nNotable Startups<\/strong><\/td>\nCountry<\/strong><\/td>\nApprox. Investment*<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n\n| FinTech<\/td>\n | 5<\/td>\n | Affinity Africa, Flend, Sahem<\/td>\n | Ghana, Egypt, Saudi Arabia<\/td>\n | $11M+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| AI & DeepTech<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n | Journify, Banyan, ZabonEx<\/td>\n | Saudi Arabia, Oman<\/td>\n | $3M+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| AgriTech & FoodTech (Accelerator)<\/td>\n | 1 (Sunbolah)<\/td>\n | 13 startups under \u201cSunbolah\u201d<\/td>\n | 8 countries<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Digital Procurement<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | Sufrat<\/td>\n | Oman<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Data Marketing & AI<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | Journify<\/td>\n | Saudi\/UAE<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| AI-Powered Wearables (M&A)<\/td>\n | 1 (Acquisition)<\/td>\n | Bee<\/td>\n | U.S. (Amazon deal)<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n *Some values are estimated based on typical round sizes per sector and region.<\/p>\n \n- \n
Deals by Country \/ Startup Nationality<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nCountry<\/strong><\/td>\nNo. of Startups<\/strong><\/td>\nHighlight Deals<\/strong><\/td>\nComparative Growth<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n\n| Saudi Arabia<\/td>\n | 6+<\/td>\n | Banyan, Sahem, Journify, Sunbolah<\/td>\n | \u2191 Strong growth in FinTech & AI<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Egypt<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n | Flend, MINT, Dayra, Digified<\/td>\n | \u2191 Stable with focus on regulation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Oman<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n | Sufrat, ZabonEx<\/td>\n | \u2191 Growing FinTech & FoodTech presence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Ghana<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | Affinity Africa<\/td>\n | \u2191 Rapid expansion, major deal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| UAE<\/td>\n | 2 (via Sunbolah)<\/td>\n | OpenFarming, PoultrySync<\/td>\n | \u2192 Steady innovation role<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| U.S.\/Canada\/Europe<\/td>\n | 3+ (Sunbolah\/Bee)<\/td>\n | Bee, APOLO Biotech, Plantaform<\/td>\n | \u2192 Supportive role in innovation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n- \n
Key Market Insights \u2013 July 2025<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n- Financial inclusion and digital transformation remained dominant, with strong rounds such as Affinity Africa ($8M) and Flend ($3M).<\/li>\n
- AI infrastructure expanded beyond software, exemplified by startups like Banyan.<\/li>\n
- Accelerator programs like MINT and Sunbolah played a vital role in catalyzing indirect funding and future partnerships.<\/li>\n
- Amazon\u2019s acquisition of Bee reaffirmed the region\u2019s startup potential for global exits, especially in emerging tech segments like wearables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- \n
Deal Tracker Table<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nStartup \/ Program<\/strong><\/td>\nDeal Type<\/strong><\/td>\nCountry<\/strong><\/td>\nSector<\/strong><\/td>\nDisclosed Funding<\/strong><\/td>\nNotable Investors<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n\n| Affinity Africa<\/td>\n | Seed Round<\/td>\n | Ghana<\/td>\n | FinTech<\/td>\n | $8M<\/td>\n | Attijariwafa, Backed VC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Flend<\/td>\n | Seed Round<\/td>\n | Egypt<\/td>\n | FinTech<\/td>\n | $3M<\/td>\n | Egypt Ventures<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Journify<\/td>\n | Strategic Funding<\/td>\n | Saudi & UAE<\/td>\n | Data Marketing + AI<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n | Shorooq Partners, Plug & Play<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Sufrat<\/td>\n | Expansion Round<\/td>\n | Oman<\/td>\n | Digital Procurement<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n | Future Fund Oman, Ithca Group<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| ZabonEx<\/td>\n | Pre-Seed<\/td>\n | Oman<\/td>\n | FoodTech + AI<\/td>\n | $100K<\/td>\n | Future Fund Oman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Sahem Finance<\/td>\n | Regulatory License<\/td>\n | Saudi Arabia<\/td>\n | Debt FinTech<\/td>\n | Indirect (license)<\/td>\n | CMA Saudi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Sunbolah Program<\/td>\n | Non-equity Accelerator<\/td>\n | KSA\/France<\/td>\n | AgriTech + FoodTech<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n | Sunbulah Group, Saudi\/French government<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| MINT Program<\/td>\n | Incubation Program<\/td>\n | Egypt<\/td>\n | FinTech \/ Training<\/td>\n | Indirect<\/td>\n | EG Bank<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Bee<\/td>\n | Acquisition by Amazon<\/td>\n | U.S.<\/td>\n | AI Wearables<\/td>\n | Undisclosed<\/td>\n | \u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n- \n
Forward-Looking Outlook<\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n- FinTech and AI sectors are expected to see increased deal velocity in H2 2025, driven by proactive policy support in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.<\/li>\n
- Government-led digital transformation opens new opportunities for SaaS and GovTech solutions, as seen with \u201cSufrat.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Accelerator programs like MINT and Sunbolah are likely to yield follow-on funding rounds, positioning them as key investment indicators.<\/li>\n
- Bee\u2019s acquisition by Amazon puts a spotlight back on the region\u2019s innovation value and potential for global exits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The final week of July 2025 (from July 20 to 27) witnessed a dynamic wave of activity across the startup ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":49432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8850,1772],"tags":[9106,6550,4441,9142,6640,9079],"class_list":["post-49385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-venture","category-startups","tag-attijariwafa-ventures","tag-flend","tag-mint","tag-sahem","tag-shorooq","tag-zabonex"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49385","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=49385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |