Startup Wrap – Saudi SiFi closes $10 million round; MENA financing sees month-on-month growth of 413%.

CAIRO: Saudi Arabia-based fintech Simplified Financial Solutions Co. has closed a $10 million seed round led by Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, and RAED Ventures.

Other participants included anb seed, Rua Ventures, Byld and KBW Ventures, along with previous investors Khwarizmi Ventures, Seedra Ventures and Tech Invest Com.

Founded in 2021 by Ahmed Al-Hakbani, SiFi is a business-to-business spend management platform that offers intelligent business cards, real-time insights into business spending, and automated expense management workflows.

Al-Hakbani, CEO of SiFi, said: “We are thrilled to have closed this important round and to have secured the support of such important and strategic partners. This financing will allow us to further enhance our offering, deliver even greater value to our customers and consolidate our position as the go-to spend management solution in Saudi Arabia,”

He added: “Our goal is to enable stakeholders within businesses to make informed decisions at the right time, while providing finance teams with the tools they need to effectively enforce corporate spending policies. In this way, we aim to help companies decentralize spending, while improving control and stimulating growth.”

This funding will allow SiFi to enhance its offering and consolidate its position as the leading spend management solution in Saudi Arabia.

“What attracted us to SiFi was threefold: its exceptional team, compelling product offering and the largely underserved market in Saudi Arabia, as companies increasingly recognize the need for more efficient financial management tools. We look forward to supporting their next phase of growth and helping them seize future opportunities,” said a spokesperson for Sanabil Investments.

Investment in MENA startups will increase in May 2024

Investments in the Middle East and North Africa region saw a significant increase in May, with a total of 40 startups raising $282 million, a 413% increase from $55 million in April.

This growth was primarily driven by debt financing, which accounted for nearly $140 million of the total raised, according to Wamda’s monthly report.

Despite this monthly growth, year-over-year transaction value saw a notable decline of 58%, down from $445 million reported in May 2023 across 39 transactions.

UAE-based Property Finder led the investment with a $90 million debt round, followed by Huspy and Keyper who secured $37 million and $34 million respectively, the latter with $30 million debt financing.

UAE-based startups received the most investments, amassing $189 million across 23 transactions.

Saudi startups follow with $56 million in 10 deals, while Egyptian startups have secured $24.5 million in four deals, including OneOrder’s $16 million Series A round combining debt and equity.

The proptech sector was the most funded, raising $167.2 million in seven rounds. The fintech sector follows with 32.7 million dollars distributed across 12 startups. The logistics sector also saw significant funding, with $25.3 million secured by three startups.

The agritech sector has shown signs of recovery with $23 million raised in May, including $16 million for Iyris’ Series A round.

Software-as-a-service startups also saw a rebound, securing $27 million in three deals. The region’s venture capital space has emphasized later-stage rounds, with $59.3 million raised by five startups in the Series A stage and $44 million by four startups in the pre-Series A stage. The deals for the seed stage they topped the count with seven deals worth $11 million.

UAE’s GrubTech was the only startup to close a Series B round at $15 million, while Saudi Arabia’s SaaS startup Merit raised $12 million in a pre-Series B. Up to 42 million dollars were not disclosed regarding stage rounds, with seven startups not disclosing their stages.

Business-to-consumer startups accounted for 62% of the total funding, raising $174 million across 13 deals, while B2B startups raised nearly $100 million.

Male founders continued to dominate, securing 89% of total investments. However, there was an increase in deals involving startups co-founded by men and women, doubling to eight deals from last month and raising $28.6 million, while female-founded companies secured $800,000 dollars.

The venture capital space in the MENA region saw significant activity in May, with the launch of several new funds.

BIM Ventures and Japan’s SBI Holdings have introduced a $100 million fund, the UAE’s TVM Capital Healthcare has launched the $250 million Afiyah Fund LP and Riyad Capital has started 1957 Ventures. Saudi Venture Capital has committed $30 million to General Atlantic for investments in Saudi startups.

Bahrain’s Investcorp closed a $570 million Investcorp Technology Partners V fund, while Shorooq Partners together with Korea’s IMM Investment Global launched a $100 million fund.

Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures announced a $100 million MENA fund, while Saudi Arabia-based HRtech Qsalary partnered with Itqan Capital for an $80 million investment fund.

In Egypt, Beltone and Microfinanza Italia have launched a $2.4 million project to support the startup scene and the $3 million Glint Fund II has also been introduced.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding participated in the $6 billion Series B round of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, valuing the company at $24 billion.

UAE-based AI startup qeen.ai secures $2.2 million in pre-seed funding

UAE-based AI startup qeen.ai has successfully raised $2.2 million in a seed funding round led by Wamda Capital, with participation from various international and regional investors, including 10x Founders, Aditum, Dara Holdings, Jabbar Group, Phaze Ventures and Eureka 460.

Founded in 2023 by Dina Al-Samhan, Ahmad Khwileh and Morteza Ibrahimi, qeen.ai focuses on providing accessible and autonomous AI solutions tailored for e-commerce businesses.

“We are thrilled to support qeen.ai in its mission to revolutionize the e-commerce space in the MENA region,” said Fadi Ghandour, CEO of Wamda Capital and founder of logistics giant Aramex.

He added: “We believe that qeen.ai is well poised to achieve substantial growth and success, as it fills a crucial market need by providing businesses with accessible AI solutions that can significantly improve their revenue, thanks to the expertise of the founding team in AI and their deep understanding of the challenges of e-commerce.”

The newly acquired funds will be used to advance the company’s mission to simplify intelligent commerce by making AI solutions more accessible and easy to use for businesses of all sizes.

Fintech company Elevate secures $5 million in pre-Series A funding

London and Dubai-based fintech company Elevate has secured $5 million in a pre-Series A funding round.

Founded in 2021 by Khalid Keenan, Faris Keenan, and Youcef Oudjidane, Elevate offers debit cards for online spending and charges standard foreign currency exchange rates when sending money domestically. The company also allows users to transfer money to their local accounts for a flat fee.

Elevate aims to provide a financial solution to address common challenges faced by freelance professionals.

The platform facilitates simple payments from US and international employers and major freelance platforms such as Upwork, Maqsam, PayPal, Deel, and Toptal.

Elevate says it has attracted more than 150,000 users from Asia and North Africa. The newly raised funds will support the company’s expansion into the Middle East and Africa.

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