The total funding raised by startups in the MENA region during the first quarter of this year exceeded $1 billion, a significant increase of 17% quarter-on-quarter. The following list lists the top 5 funding rounds for startups in the Middle East and Africa who managed to close deals totalling $636M – according to the latest reports published by MAGNITT – where the five companies’ industries varied between fintech, e-commerce platforms and mobile gaming.
1. MNT Halan
- Industry: Fintech
- Amount Raised: $260M
- Website: https://mnt-halan.com
MNT Halan, an Egyptian microcredit and payment services company, raised USD 260M in funding in February, bringing its value to more than USD 1B, according to the company. Investments included the acquisition by Abu Dhabi’s Chimera of at least 20% of MNT Halan, estimated at $200M. The company also raised another $60M in seed capital from international investors. MNT Halan previously announced that it has more than five million customers in Egypt, including 3.5 million using its financial services and two million borrowers. It has about 1.3 million monthly active subscribers.
2. Floward
- Industry: E-Commerce
- Amount Raised: $156M
- Website: https://floward.com
Floward, the online flower and gift delivery company in the Middle East and the United Kingdom, closed a $156M funding round in February led by Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners and STV, delivering more than 50 million roses, creating more than 1,000 jobs and collaborating with more than 400 brands and many local creatives. Floward intends to use the new funding to expand and diversify its gift line, relying more on artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the customer experience to meet their needs.
3. Nana
- Industry: E-Commerce
- Amount Raised: $133M
- Website: https://www.nana.sa
In February, Nana, Saudi Arabia’s leading e-grocery delivery platform, closed a $133M funding round led by Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) and Uni Ventures, with the participation of Sultan Holding, Al-Jasser Holding, Red Diamond Company, Dallah Al-Baraka Group, AlJammaz Holding and some other investors. This investment is one of the largest investment rounds at the level of Saudi startups. Launched in January 2016 to be the first platform to provide online solutions for catering and household items in Saudi Arabia and the region, Nana has achieved record numbers in terms of the number of orders executed and the number of application downloads that exceeded 10 million times.
4. Tabby
- Industry: Fintech
- Amount Raised: $58M
- Website: https://tabby.ai
In January, Middle East-leading shopping and financial services app Tabby raised $58M in funding from Sequoia Capital India, STV, PayPal Ventures, Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst, bringing the company’s total valuation to $660M. The UAE-based company said it works with more than 10,000 brands and last year, the app exceeded 3 million users, and the company recently launched its partnership with Noon. Tabby plans to roll out innovative solutions in the coming years that enable its users to access more products and increase their purchasing power.
5. Carry1st
- Industry: Mobile Gaming
- Amount Raised: $27M
- Website: https://www.carry1st.com
Cape Town-based African mobile gaming startup Carry1st raised $27M in funding in January. According to the company, this investment will be used to develop, licence and publish new games. And the expansion of the payment service (Pay1st) that it launched online to achieve better content monetization. Founded in 2018, Carry1st serves the first generation of African smartphone users, and the startup has so far reached millions of users across the region through games such as Mine Rescue, Krusty Cook-Off and SpongeBob.
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