Welcome to our daily funding update for MENA startups. This brief will cover the latest funding news and investments from the region’s vibrant startup ecosystem.
20th September 2023 Funding and Investment Update
1. WAED Ventures Co-Leads a $52 Million Funding Round for Mighty Buildings to Develop Its Technology and Expand Its Business in the US and the Middle East.
Saudi Aramco-owned WAED Ventures Fund led a $52 Million Funding round for Mighty Buildings in partnership with BOLD Capital with the participation of 20 investors, including Khosla Ventures and KB-Badgers, bringing the company’s investment to date to $153 million. Founded in 2017, Mighty Buildings develops technologies for building sustainable prefabricated homes that are environmentally and climate-friendly by employing 3D printing, advanced materials science, and pre-manufacturing automation. The company says it can build homes 3-4 times faster than industry standards and with less waste, reducing the negative impact on the environment. According to its statement, the company plans to leverage funding to develop its technologies and expand its business in targeted areas in the United States and the Middle East, where demand for residential units in the US market continues to increase. It also plans to establish manufacturing hubs in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the world’s largest and fastest-growing construction markets.
2. Saudi Venture Capital SVC Invests $5 Million in Venture Souq to Boost the Growth of the Kingdom’s Fintech Sector.
Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) announced a $5 million investment in the Fintech Fund Venture Souq, which focuses on investing in early-stage fintech startups. According to the company’s statement, the investment in the FinTech Fund managed by Venture Souq comes as part of SVC’s fund investment program to promote the growth of the venture investment ecosystem in startups in the Kingdom and to enhance the growth witnessed by the financial technology sector during the previous years, which made it the forefront of the venture investment scene in Saudi Arabia in 2022 in terms of number and value. Saudi Venture Capital is a government investment company established in 2018 and affiliated with the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank, one of the development banks affiliated with the National Development Fund. It aims to stimulate and sustain the financing of startups and small and medium enterprises from the pre-establishment stage to the pre-IPO by investing in funds and participation in startups by investing $ 2 billion. It should be noted that the number of funds in which Saudi venture investment has invested reached 43 investment funds. In contrast, the number of startups and small and medium enterprises invested in them gained more than 700 companies.
3. Saudi Food Surplus Management Platform Barakah Closes a $1.5 Million Seed Funding Round Led by Hambro Perks Oryx Fund and Global 500 to Expand Its Services in the Kingdom.
Saudi food surplus management platform Barakah has closed a $1.5 million seed funding round led by Hambro Perks Oryx Fund and the participation of 500 Global, KAUST’s Innovation Projects Fund, PlusVC, Investments Annex, and some angel investors. Barakah helps restaurants, bakeries, and groceries tap into excess food stocks and turn them into an additional source of income, with its business model focused on balancing sustainability and profitability for food outlets and making products available to everyone at affordable prices and says it saved more than 100,000 meals from waste in just 10 months. The company currently operates in Riyadh and Jeddah and says the investment helps it strategically expand to other major cities in the Kingdom, continuing to develop its services in existing cities and affirming its commitment to its partners and customers.
4. Plug & Play Middle East Leads a $1 Million Pre-Seed Funding Round for Saudi Logistics Platform Equiptal to Expand Its Activities in the Kingdom.
Saudi Platform for Heavy Equipment, Equiptal, has closed a million-dollar preliminary funding round led by Plug & Play Middle East and a group of angel investors. Founded in 2022 by Ali Marei and Mansour Humaid, Equiptal provides an online marketplace for heavy equipment and connects contractors with suppliers directly. The company also provides a cloud fleet management solution to help contractors track and manage a range of equipment at a specific location, reduce expenses and downtime, and reduce carbon emissions. Equiptal focuses its operations on existing projects in Saudi Arabia, especially in the Red Sea city of Neom, while targeting a market of US$3 trillion over the next five years.
5. KSA’s National Auction Platform SoumTech Receives Funding From BIM Ventures Without Disclosing the Value.
Business development company BIM Ventures announced the closure of an investment round for the national auction platform SoumTech without disclosing its value, with the participation of some investment companies and a group of angel investors. SoumTech, launched in March 2023 and based in Riyadh, works to digitise real estate auctions by making auctions available to all categories of individuals and companies through the platform and enabling those interested to participate in auctions or offer their properties. SoumTech stated that it has entered the real estate auction market to provide the service simultaneously to a more significant segment of customers at lower costs. The auctions include several parties, including the Support and Liquidation Centre and the rescue and private auctions, adding that it has been able to implement sales worth more than one billion Saudi riyals since its inception and aspires to become the first destination for electronic auctions.
6. Jordan’s Digital Marketing and Advertising Solutions Startup DigiZag Closes Series A Funding Led by AB Invest to Strengthen Its Brand Presence.
DigiZag, a digital marketing and advertising solutions company, has announced that it has raised Series A investment financing led by AB Invest SME investment fund managed by ANB Investment Group without disclosing the value of the transaction. The startup was founded in 2015 and provided affiliate marketing solutions to various companies and tools to measure return on spend and results from ads and track their performance in real-time. DigiZag stated in its statement that it would use the funding to strengthen its brand presence and team in the target countries to elevate, develop, and elevate the level of digital marketing in the MENA region, as the startup will serve more customers and help new companies in the region achieve their marketing goals and excel in the world of affiliate marketing. It is worth noting that DigiZag has grown between 25% and 30% over the past three years by serving more than 300 customers and supporting more than 3,000 marketers in Arab countries.
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.
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter for startup & business news and inspiring stories of MENA businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, innovators, investors, and change-makers.
To report any issue or error in the story, please email us editor [at] rasmal [dot] com.
