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.
27th July 2023 Startups Activities News
1. Taker Launches the Dook Delivery App With the Aim of Increasing Restaurant Market Shares in Online Orders and Boosting Customer Loyalty.
Taker announced the launch of the Dook delivery app, which brings together Taker’s restaurant partners in one application, and provides its services to restaurants with a reduced commission of only 5%, according to the company’s statement, allowing them to display all items to customers at the restaurant price and provide many offers and discounts to encourage customers to order and thus increase restaurant profits. According to Taker, the Dook app aims to increase the market shares of restaurants in online orders and restore the relationship of loyalty between customers and restaurants by changing the concept of ordering for offers to ordering from the preferred restaurant, which will help restaurant owners achieve greater profits and focus on the quality of services provided thanks to the low commission.
2. Egyptian Venture Capital Firm EdVentures Signs a Partnership With VMS’s Startup Development Studio to Empower Edtech Startups in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Egyptian venture capital firm EdVentures announced that it had signed a strategic partnership with the Startup Development Studio in Saudi Arabia VMS to support and empower startups in the educational technology sector in Saudi Arabia and Egypt in particular and the MENA region in general, and the two companies aim from the partnership to support, incubate and develop the most significant number of educational platforms, as EdVentures was launched in 2017 as an investment arm of Nahdet Misr Group, and focuses on its investments in edtech, while VMS focuses on building and developing Egyptian and Saudi startups and supporting their expansion between the two countries.
3. Mawsool Platform in the UAE Is Launched to Serve the Business Sector, Facilitate Sales and Employment, and Attract Talent and Investors.
UAE-based platform Mawsool announced its launch, planning to provide services to the business sector to help them in sales and recruitment and attract talent and investors. The company stated that it offers a tool targeting potential customers to help companies improve sales plans and increase revenue by analysing customer data such as names, contact details, job titles and other things to make their targeting more accurate. In addition, to a tool that helps search for competencies by finding the right candidate for the job through a network of interested people. The company has confirmed that its system relies on analytics based on documented and certified data, which makes its analytics more accurate to help companies make their decisions.
4. Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center Sheraa Launches the 2023 Edition of the Startup Dojo Program Dedicated to Incubating Young Entrepreneurs.
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center Sheraa has launched the 2023 edition of the Startup Dojo program dedicated to incubating young entrepreneurs, which provides them with intensive training and mentorship programs over 8 weeks to enable them to develop their ideas and gain experience to create new solutions and start their own companies. Sharjah was ranked among the top 5 entrepreneurial ecosystems in the MENA region in the Genome Global Startup Ecosystem (GSER) report, with startups there witnessing a 26% growth in investment totalling US$161 million and generating revenues of US$247 million. According to the Centre’s statement, the current edition of the program is witnessing significant participation of young Emiratis, with 81% of the 50 students joining the program, 50% for each gender, coming from various UAE universities and forming 16 teams, each proposing an entrepreneurial idea.
5. Noon Payments Signs a Partnership With Egyptian Digital Platform Waffarha to Provide Flexible Payment Solutions to Customers.
The integrated online payment gateway Noon Payments, announced its partnership with Waffarha, the Egyptian digital platform working to provide intelligent solutions for the best purchase and savings offers, to provide flexible payment resolutions that enable Waffarha users to obtain digital offers, vouchers, and pay bills through a seamless payment system. Customers can purchase with multiple online payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard, Meeza and e-wallets, and customers can easily save cards for future purchases, resulting in increased transfers and transactions. This partnership underscores Noon Payments’ commitment to supporting businesses of all sizes in growth by providing innovative payment solutions.
6. Leading Consumer Technology Group Astra Tech Partners With Electronic and E-Commerce Company Jw Holdings to Provide Pakistani Expatriates in the UAE With an Innovative Online Shopping Experience.
Astra Tech, the leading consumer technology group in the MENA region, has announced its collaboration with JW Holdings, the parent company of Ruba Digital, which is active in home appliances, electronics and e-commerce. The new partnership aims to integrate Ruba Digital into the Botim online store, allowing users in the UAE to purchase and receive a wide range of consumer durables in Pakistan through Ruba Digital’s extensive retail chain network of more than 150 branches in 130 cities. Pakistani expatriates in the UAE will also benefit from Shariah-compliant financing options in instalments of up to 12 months, providing them with greater financial flexibility and a seamless and innovative cross-border online shopping experience offered by the app.
7. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub I-Be Launches AI-Based Smart Content and Chats Generation Platform I-Bex to Help People Improve Their Businesses.
The Innovation and entrepreneurship hub I-be announced the launch of the I-bex platform. The new platform specialises in developing and creating AI-based innovative content and chats and providing many services, such as custom software development and predictive analytics across 39 tools serving different fields. The platform allows its users to get answers to their queries and suggestions improving productivity. Its intelligent tools also contribute to forging and creating written content for more than 39 tasks in different disciplines, such as drafting and writing an email, writing explanations and articles, solving questions and translating into other languages, writing marketing content and designing marketing plans. At the same time, its services provide users with 4 packages, one of which is free. The platform aims to help people improve their businesses by seamlessly leveraging AI capabilities, especially those needing more technical knowledge or experience in dealing with AI engines.
8. Sweply Launches the Sweply Plus Platform to Manage Advertising Accounts Directly on Twitter Without a Maximum Limit.
Sweply has announced the launch of Sweply Plus, which allows companies and government entities in the MENA region to manage their Twitter ad accounts and recharge their campaign credit directly without a cap. Sweply Plus is the result of a strategic relationship with Twitter Middle East and its partners, as the platform aims to enable entities from all sectors to launch their ad campaigns and benefit from all advertising marketing services available on Twitter without the need to link credit cards and without a maximum limit. The platform provides its services to customers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Pakistan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Iraq and Jordan.
9. E-Commerce Platform Rabbit Launches AI-Powered Shopping Assistant Rabbit AI to Develop and Facilitate the Shopping Experience for Its Customers.
E-commerce platform Rabbit has announced the launch of Rabbit AI, an AI-powered shopping assistant and OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology that aims to transform and facilitate the shopping experience of its customers. Rabbit AI offers its users real-time assistance by integrating ChatGPT’s cutting-edge large language model (LLM) technology with Rabbit’s AI infrastructure. It enables curated recommendations and personalised insights that take the hassle out of grocery shopping for free. According to the company’s statement, technologies such as Rabbit AI represent a giant leap forward and a glimpse into the future of retail for Arabic-speaking and Egyptian users. Rabbit AI users can use many features, such as searching for specific products, knowing the calories in snacks and food, and getting help cooking meals through step-by-step recipes. The app also offers unprecedented customisation and relieves some of the pre-shopping stress of meal planning, long menus, and finding recipes.
10. Careem and PaySky FinTech Signs Partnership to Enhance the Payment for Captains and Provide Quick and Secure Access to Profits Immediately After the Trip.
Careem announced its partnership with PaySky, the leading money technology and electronic payment solutions company in the Middle East and Africa, to provide the best fast payment solutions for Careem Captains in Egypt by using their digital payment platform Yalla launched by PaySky in Egypt in partnership with Egypt Post and provides a variety of financial services such as sending and receiving money, savings, investing, online and in-store payments, in addition to To non-financial benefits such as ordering daily needs, medicines and many offers and discounts. Through this partnership, Careem aims to enhance the payment experience for its captains, giving them quick and secure access to their earnings immediately after the trip.
11. Egyptian Startup PraxiLabs Joins the List of Global Companies Leading Education and Achieving the Fourth Goal of the Sustainable Development Goals.
PraxiLabs, an Egyptian startup, was chosen by Omdena with 67 companies internationally that are advancing excellent education and attaining the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). PraxiLabs, Udacity, Coursera, Udemy, and Gostudent are just a few of the selected companies, alongside worldwide unicorns and others that raised millions of dollars in financing. The web-based platform from PraxiLabs offers a place for science teaching that replicates actual biology, chemistry, and physics laboratory experiments. PraxiLabs labs give students and teachers access to three-dimensional simulations of expensive, dangerous, or difficult-to-access lab activities to practise and learn.
12. Mastercard Partners With Geidea Saudi Arabia to Provide Consumers and Businesses With More Advanced Credit Card Solutions.
Mastercard has announced a new partnership with Geidea Saudi Arabia to provide consumers and businesses with more cutting-edge credit card solutions. Under this agreement, Geidea, with the support of Mastercard, will be able to expand its services and products, act as an issuer and leverage Mastercard’s avant technology to provide BIN Sponsorship, enabling consumers, merchants and fintech companies across the Kingdom to benefit from innovative payment solutions. The agreement also supports fintech empowerment efforts and digital economies in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region. This agreement comes as part of the ongoing cooperation between Mastercard and Geidea, where the two parties launched a strategic partnership in 2021 that was the first of its kind in the MENA region to accept payments via Tap on Phone in Saudi Arabia.
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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