Unicorn Startups in the MENA region

“Businesses owned by responsible and organized merchants shall eventually surpass those owned by wealthy rulers.”
Ibn Khaldun.

The MENA region is facing an astounding growth in investments in the technology industry. A key movement to increase the number of unicorn startups

Being a privately owned business and having a valuation of over $1.00 billion is so unique and rare that Aileen Lee called that a unicorn. She is the founder of Cowboy Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital fund based in Palo Alto.

Back in 2013, she published an article called “Welcome To The Unicorn Club: Learning From Billion-Dollar Startups”. There she talks about the likelihood of a startup achieving a billion-dollar valuation.

With the data she gathered by that time, she concluded that only 0.07% of startups get to that landmark. Hence the unicorn label. The term gained such popularity that, nowadays, is used worldwide.

There are unicorn startups in the MENA region too. Have a look at this list.

List of Unicorn Startups in the MENA Region 

Just like Aileen Lee explained in her famous article, the majority of unicorn startups are related to cloud-based software and similar technologies. After checking out our list, you will see that hasn’t changed that much.

1. Emerging Markets Property Group

• Founders Name: Kevin Gormand and Kian Moini
• Industry: Classifieds
• Founded In: 2015
• Date Joined: 4/28/2020
• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Valuation ($B): $1.00 
• Select Investors: OLX Group, KCK Group, EXOR Seeds

EMPG (short for Emerging Markets Property Group) is well-known for its ability to expose classifieds on its portals. With a high traffic volume, advertisers can assure they will be seen in emerging markets. 

2. Kitopi

• Founders Name: Mohamad Ballout, Saman Darkan, and Bader Ataya
• Industry: Supply Chain, Logistics, & Delivery
• Founded In: 2018
• Date Joined: 07/01/2021
• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Valuation ($B): $1.55
• Select Investors: CE-Ventures, BECO Capital, Nordstar

Kitopi is one of those examples of how the cloud can impact our lives directly. This company uses technology to maximize efficiency in the kitchen. They serve restaurants with an operating system that provides a collection of apps to cover different aspects of the kitchen work.

3. STC Pay

• Founders Name: Abdulkarim Giraud, Abdulqader Alharbi, Abdulrahman Alageel, Ahmed Alenazi, Ananoud Babagi, Ayman Fallatah, Fahed Alsagaby, Iyas Alhabib, Khalid Algarni, Saad Almuhana, and Talal Alqahtani
• Industry: Fintech
• Founded In: 2018
• Date Joined: 11/22/2020
• Country: Saudi Arabia
• City: Riyadh
• Valuation ($B): $1.30
• Select Investors: Western Union

STC Pay is a Saudi digital payment company that brings financial solutions both for end-users and businesses. Companies can boost their growth by using a payment platform that eases the payment process for goods and services. On the other hand, individuals can easily manage their money, avoiding banking hassles.

4. Yalla Group

• Founders Name: Tao Yang
• Industry: Social Network
• Founded In: 2016
• Date Joined: 09/30/2020
• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Valuation ($B): $1.00
• Select Investors: SIG China, Orchid Asia Group Management, Hongfan Capital

Yalla is a social networking and entertainment platform tailored for cultures in the MENA region. It is a great application for people to hang around with friends and family. The app also offers board games like ludo, domino, parchis, and other services.

5. Swvl

• Founders Name: Mostafa Kandil, Mahmoud Nouh, and Ahmed Sabbah
• Industry: Transportation
• Founded In: 2017
• Date Joined: 07/28/2021
• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Valuation ($B): $1.50
• Select Investors: VNV Global

Swvl is a transportation service that claims to save its customers time and money with their fixed rate rides. They also aim to provide a comfortable trip on its buses and vans working on the networks they operate. Even though it is based in Dubai, Swvl operates in 115 cities across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

6. Fawry

• Founders Name: Ashraf Sabry, and Mohamed Okasha
• Industry: Banking, Finance
• Founded In: 2008
• Date Joined: 08/19/2020
• Country: Egypt
• City: Cairo
• Valuation ($B): $1.40
• Select Investors: Alsoug, Brimore, Elmenus, Bosta

Fawry is a banking and financial solution for anyone in Egypt. By using its app, anyone can perform several operations such as payments, collections, reconciliations, settlements, new contracts, and subscriptions. Users can pay their bills and services online, using ATMs, mobile wallets, and retail points.

7. Careem

• Founders Name: Magnus Olsson, Abdullah Elyas, and Mudassir Sheikha
• Industry: Transportation
• Founded In: 2012
• Date Joined: 12/19/2016
• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Valuation ($B): $3.10
• Select Investors: Kingdom Holding Company, Didi

Careem offers a SuperApp where customers can find transportation, delivery, and payment solutions. When using Careem Pay, users can pay for their rides, and food orders or send money to family members. They also have a fidelity program where customers can redeem their points for goods or make donations. Currently, they are present in more than 100 cities from Morocco to Pakistan.

8. Tamara

• Founders Name: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Al Babtain
• Industry: Fintech
• Founded In: 2020
• Date Joined: 12/18/2023
• Country: Saudi Arabia
• City: Riyadh
• Valuation ($B): $1.00 
• Select Investors: SNB Capital, Sanabil Investments

Tamara is a leading fintech platform in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region that has revolutionized shopping, payments, and banking. Its flagship service, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), allows users to split purchases into interest-free instalments, making it more accessible. Tamara has partnerships with over 26,000 merchants, including popular brands like SHEIN, IKEA, H&M, and Noon. It offers a seamless shopping experience through its app or website, catering to diverse needs.

Some more promising startups from the MENA region

Lately, many investors both from the West and the Far East have been paying attention to the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the MENA region. That’s only natural because of the promising startups that are offering great solutions while growing steadily. These are some of them.

1. MNT-Halan

• Founders Name: Mounir Nakhla
• Industry: Banking, Finance
• Founded In: 2017
• Country: Egypt
• City: Cairo
• Select Investors: Development Partners International, Apis Partners

MNT-Halan is a multiservice company that offers business and consumer lending, a digital payment platform, and logistic services. They are revolutionizing the microfinance world by bringing finance solutions to the unbanked who can benefit from several lending services.

2. Edita Food Industries

• Founders Name: Hani Berzi
• Industry: Food, Beverage
• Founded In: 1996
• Country: Egypt
• City: Ramadan City
• Select Investors: Actis

Just like they say, Edita is “a leader for the snack industry in the Middle East and North Africa. They offer a wide range of snacks like cakes, bakery, rusks, wafers, candy, and biscuits. Nowadays, they are present in more than 17 markets across the MENA region being West Bank, Iraq, Libya, and Morocco the largest ones.

Also Read: 10 Most Funded Startups in the Middle East 2022

3. MaxAB

• Founders Name: Belal EL-Megharbel, and Mohamed Ben Halim
• Industry: E-commerce
• Founded In: 2018
• Country: Egypt
• City: Cairo
• Select Investors: RMBV, Beco Capital, Crystal Stream Capital

MaxAB offers an e-commerce platform where retailers and suppliers can solve their food and groceries needs. While retailers simplify business by finding what they need in one place, suppliers can “predict, monitor, and control the impact of their strategies in real-time.” MaxAB mainly operates in Egypt and Morocco.

4. Vezeeta

• Founders Name: Ahmed Badr, and Amir Barsoum
• Industry: Healthcare
• Founded In: 2012
• Country: Egypt
• City: Cairo
• Select Investors: Gulf Capital, International Finance Corporation

Vezeeta eases the process of making an appointment with a medical specialist with their healthcare booking platform. Users can choose from more than 40 specialties, get the advantages of telemedicine, and ask a doctor for a home visit. They offer this service to people living in Egypt, KSA, Jordan, Lebanon, Kenya, and Nigeria.

5. Fetchr

• Founders Name: Idriss Al Rifai, and Joy Ajlouny
• Industry: Supply Chain, Logistics, & Delivery
• Founded In: 2012
• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Select Investors: CMA CGM, Beco Capital, New Enterprise Associates, NGP Capital

Fetchr is a company focused on giving logistic solutions to its customers. They target e-commerces, B2B businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs, and anyone looking for integrated supply chain services. Fetchr uses high-tech such as drone deliveries, self-driving cars, robotization, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and other advanced logistics technology to serve the Middle East and beyond.

6. Souqalmal

• Founders Name: Ambareen Musa
• Industry: Banking, Finance
• Founded In: 2012
• Country: United Arab Emirates
• City: Dubai
• Select Investors: Riyad TAQNIA Fund (RTF)

Soulaqmal is a money market where customers can compare different financial solutions from personal loans, credit cards, and mortgages to insurance, bank accounts, loans for cars, and more. They are present in UEA, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrein. What’s great about this platform is the unbiased information they offer to empower customers from the MENA region.

7. Tamatem

• Founders Name: Eyad Al Basheer, Hussam Hammo, and Sohaib Thiab
• Industry: Gaming
• Founded In: 2013
• Country: Jordan
• City: Amman
• Select Investors: MSA Novo, Krafton, Wamda Capital

Tamatem is a game publisher for the MENA region. In 2013, they saw a market opportunity in the game industry for the Arabic-speaking world. Given the lack of games tailored for the region, they stepped in to customise games for Arab countries. Since then, they have released more than 50 games and keep striving to bring the best of the gaming industry to the MENA region.

Also Read: Top 10 Emerging Blockchain Startups in the Middle East Making Significant Strides

8. Elves

• Founders Name: Abdel Rahman El-Zohairy, Abeer Elsisi, and Karim Elsahy
• Industry: Travel
• Founded In: 2013
• Country: Egypt
• City: Cairo
• Select Investors: Sawari Ventures, Intelak Hub

Elves offer an app to make things easier for traveling and exploring Egypt safely. This app serves as a channel where travel experts guide users to plan their adventures around Egypt. Elves solve common issues travelers are used to having like language barriers, scattered resources, lack of information, and more.

9. Yaoota

• Founders Name: Mohamed Ewis, and Sherif ElRakabawy
• Industry: E-commerce
• Founded In: 2013
• Country: Egypt
• City: Cairo
• Select Investors: KBBO Group

Yaoota is a big marketplace working online. Users can surf the website to look for a certain article and compare prices from different suppliers in Egypt. With a meticulous filter, they choose certain online stores to inform customers what their options are. In a way, Yaoota works as a search engine for buying items online.

10. Wuzzuf

• Founders Name: Ameer Sherif
• Industry: Human Resources
• Founded In: 2009
• Country: Egypt
• City: Cairo
• Select Investors: European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, Endure Capital, VNV Capital

Wuzzuf is a portal where people can search and apply for a job. They are focused on the Egypt job market. Users can also find resources to improve their skills such as free and paid courses, workshops, and more. Everything is so well organized that finding a specific job or course is very easy.

What’s ahead?

After surfing this small list of unicorn startups from the MENA region, it is easy to notice that services with a cloud-based background are pretty common. Artificial intelligence is also a recurrent feature among these unicorn startups. 

From this information, it is easy to see a trend in services that make the most of web technology. In other words, most investors are hopeful and keep positive expectations toward artificial intelligence, machine learning, and programming solutions.

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