Welcome to our daily update for the latest developments and activities of startups in the Arab region. This brief will cover the latest news from the region’s vibrant startup ecosystem.
22 November 2023 Startups Activities News
1. The Digital Finance Brokerage Platform Arib Collaborates With Bayan Credit Bureau to Enhance the Security and Confidentiality of Its Customers’ Data.
The digital finance brokerage firm Arib has signed an agreement with Bayan Credit Bureau to enhance the security and confidentiality of its customer’s data from the moment they enter the platform. The company stated that through this partnership, it seeks to reach a new customer base and acquire a more significant segment of the Saudi market to meet the ambitions of its customers in all regions of the Kingdom, stressing its commitment to continue to improve the customer experience and keep pace with the rapid changes in the finance sector to achieve the goals of Vision 2030 and the digital transformation program in the Kingdom. Last year, Arib closed an investment round led by Merak Capital and obtained a licence from the Saudi Central Bank several months ago to engage in digital brokerage activity for financiers.
2. Re.life for Digital Logistics & Recyclables Trading Expands Its Business in the MENA Region.
The digital logistics and recyclables trading firm Re.life has revealed that it is expanding its business to several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and opening regional offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. The startup, one of the fastest-growing online platforms in the UAE, includes two digital platforms, the first of which is Re.Life Market specializes in trading recyclables and materials. The second is Re.Life Collect provides logistics services for the transportation of goods on demand. The company recently unveiled this heavy equipment rental service to help companies and project managers complete construction work without incurring high costs and maintenance expenses for the fleet of specialised heavy machinery in the long term. The geographical expansion of Re.life coincides with its accelerated growth in 2023, which exceeded its performance indicators in 2022 as Re.Life Market recorded trades of more than AED 100 million, representing 100,000 tons of recyclables, according to the company in its statement. During the first half of 2023, the company achieved trades exceeding AED 150 million and more than 130,000 tons of materials. Demand for irrigation services has also increased. LifeCollect during the first half of this year by 150% in addition to increasing the number of its users by 15%, reflecting the company’s qualitative performance in logistics, retail and corporate services.
3. The Tunisian Ministry of Education and the Classera App Launches the Future Tunisia School Platform to Back Smart Learning.
The Tunisian Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Classera learning application, announced the launch of a new digital platform for intelligent learning within the educational system in the Republic of Tunisia, which bears the name of the Future Tunisia School. This step comes within the framework of the memorandum of cooperation recently signed between the two sides to launch a digital educational platform to be used within the entire educational system, starting with students and teachers passing through the leaders of the educational process and parents. The first model of the Tunis Future School was launched from Sidi Said Primary School in Fernana. His Excellency Mohamed Ali Boughdiri, Tunisian Minister of Education, stated that the Tunisian state is working to develop the educational process by relying on the latest technical solutions and initiating an educational reform process that reflects the desire of Tunisians for scientific and technological development and openness to technical alternatives different in their features to what has become old and classic, adding that the new digital platform available from Classera will be applied within 500 educational institutions from primary, preparatory and secondary education as a first stage, before being circulated at the national level to benefit about 2.5 per cent. One million students, and that the selection of Classera for the task came as a result of its international expertise in the field of educational technologies in the countries of the Arab world, where it will supervise the technical side of the project, in addition to the field services represented in training and technical support through its team and experts in Tunisia. In contrast, the Ministry of Education will supervise the educational content of this new digital platform.
4. Cura Virtual Healthcare Solutions and Saudi German Hospitals Partners to Enhance Patient Access to Healthcare Services.
Cura Virtual Healthcare Solutions in Saudi Arabia has partnered with Saudi German Hospitals Group to enable and enhance patient access to healthcare services, including hospitals and clinics within the Cura Vital Care platform in conjunction with the launch of new updates to its application and services, where the Cura application enables patients to benefit from a wide range of healthcare services including virtual consultations, remote monitoring, health information exchange, and linking all Saudi Hospital Group sites. The German is on the Cura vital care platform. According to CURA, the app updates will allow a one-day sick leave request after consultation with a doctor, submit a SOAP report to doctors, and enable patients to search for doctors through the search bar by name, speciality and classification, in addition to helping patients access Cura services from hospitals and clinics. It is worth noting that Cura has previously signed partnerships with Malath Insurance Company to provide remote consultation services to insured individuals, allowing patients to access digital healthcare services within their remote insurance coverage, and has also launched a partnership project with Al Dawaa Pharmacies to enable patients dealing with pharmacies to book instant consultation sessions with doctors and receive prescriptions.
5. PayTabs and Tabby Signs a Partnership to Provide Postpaid Services to Business Owners in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
PayTabs Saudi Arabia announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Tabby under which Tabby’s postpaid services will be available to all PayTabs business customers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. PayTabs stated that the payment option via Tabby will begin to appear on the payment page in online stores, which will enable customers and online shoppers to divide the amounts of their purchases into 4 payments without fees or interest, as PayTabs aims to enhance the customer shopping experience by converting potential browsers and shoppers into buyers, which increases the average value of the shopping cart and expands the customer base of merchants. In this regard, PayTabs stated that it seeks to empower businesses and merchants with a digital economy by providing complete payment solutions and alternative payment methods to attract a broad customer base and increase average transactions by offering instalment options.
That’s all for today’s funding update. Stay tuned for more updates on the MENA startup scene, and remember to subscribe to our newsletter or browse our archives for more news and analysis.
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Last Updated on November 22, 2023 by Safiya K
