Press release:

Zuvees, an AI-powered global gifting platform, has raised $1.6 million from IvyCap Ventures as part of its ongoing Series A funding round.

The investment will support the company’s next phase of growth, including the expansion of its international footprint, enhancement of its AI-driven capabilities, and scaling of its gifting services for both businesses and consumers.

Zuvees has built a cross-border gifting platform designed to simplify the process of sending personalised gifts across multiple markets. By leveraging artificial intelligence, the platform helps users discover, customise, and deliver gifting experiences more efficiently.

The new funding comes as demand for digital gifting solutions continues to grow globally, driven by increasing cross-border commerce and rising expectations for personalised customer experiences.

With the fresh capital, Zuvees plans to strengthen its presence across the Middle East and international markets, invest in product innovation, and expand its network of gifting partners and merchants.

The company aims to position itself as a leading global gifting platform, combining AI-powered personalisation with seamless international fulfilment capabilities.

Press release:

MNT-Halan, Egypt's leading fintech ecosystem, has reached a valuation of $1.4 billion following the first closing of a new investment round led by Al Ahly Capital, the investment arm of the National Bank of Egypt.

The transaction was completed following the receipt of all required regulatory approvals, with a second closing expected as part of the ongoing funding round.

The investment reflects growing confidence in Egypt's fintech sector and highlights increasing collaboration between traditional financial institutions and technology-driven financial services providers. It also reinforces MNT-Halan's position as one of the region's largest fintech platforms.

MNT-Halan plans to allocate the majority of the proceeds toward expanding its operations in Egypt while supporting its broader regional growth strategy. The company currently operates in Egypt and Türkiye, owns a specialised bank serving micro and small enterprises in Pakistan, and has been expanding its presence across Gulf markets.

Founded by Mounir Nakhla, MNT-Halan offers a comprehensive digital financial ecosystem that includes business and consumer lending, payments, e-wallets, savings, investments, and e-commerce services. The company became Egypt's first fintech unicorn in 2023 and has continued to expand through a combination of organic growth, strategic acquisitions, and new market entries.

For Al Ahly Capital, the transaction aligns with its private equity strategy of investing in businesses that contribute to financial inclusion and economic development, while supporting Egypt's broader digital transformation agenda.

Press release:

Edafa Venture announced the acquisition of two AI startups operating in construction and healthcare sectors during AI Everything Middle East & Africa – Egypt exhibition, organised by GITEX Global in Cairo on February 11–12, 2026. 

These six-figure dollar acquisitions were among the most notable investment deals announced during the event.

The acquisitions reflect Edafa Venture’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the technology and artificial intelligence ecosystem while building an investment platform that supports promising startups and enables their regional expansion, accelerating the adoption of AI-driven solutions across key industries.

The transactions involved two AI-focused startups: Kuadra, a construction technology company, and IRRI Vision, a health-tech platform.

Kuadra leverages AI to transform the planning, management, and execution of large-scale construction projects through interconnected smart operating systems that enhance efficiency and streamline project operations.

Meanwhile, IRRI Vision is an Egyptian health-tech company that develops AI-powered solutions to support physicians and healthcare providers with faster and more accurate diagnostic tools, helping improve treatment outcomes and overall quality of healthcare services.

Commenting on the acquisitions, Essam Aly, CEO of Edafa Venture, said that the deals demonstrate Egypt’s growing attractiveness as a destination for AI investment.

“These developments confirm that Egypt is no longer merely adopting digital solutions; it is building a comprehensive innovation ecosystem capable of developing and exporting technology, further strengthening its position as a regional hub for innovation across the Middle East and Africa,” Aly added.

He noted that the acquisitions reflect the quality of innovation showcased during the exhibition and highlight the value of bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, major corporations, and policymakers under one roof.

“The exhibition provided an environment where innovative ideas could be transformed into tangible investment opportunities,” he disclosed. “Such interactions play a critical role in accelerating startup growth and fostering a more dynamic AI ecosystem.”

Aly noted that the acquisitions were part of the broader wave of technology and investment activity witnessed during the exhibition, which has evolved into a leading platform for strategic partnerships, investments, and acquisitions, reflecting the rapid growth of AI-driven startups across Egypt and the Middle East.

Press release:

Blnk, a fintech company on a mission to enable financial inclusion through rapid point-of-sale financing, has raised $12.5 million in equity funding and $24.6 million in local debt facilities. The funding will scale its consumer finance operations in Egypt, with a focus on onboarding women and the underbanked, by offering flexible loan sizes for a wider range of products and services.

The Series A equity funding round was led by Algebra Ventures, with participation from SANAD Fund for MSME, Endeavor Catalyst and Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC), the Abu Dhabi-based investor that backed Blnk’s seed funding round. Debt funding was secured from a number of leading local banks, with notable participation from Suez Canal Bank, Bank Albaraka and National Bank of Egypt, as well as non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) including Corplease, Globalcorp and BM Lease, among others.  

Blnk has built an efficient acquisition model, using proprietary algorithms that enable rapid underwriting and loan booking at the point of sale, empowering consumers to access products that would have previously been unaffordable. With minimal documentation and in just 3 minutes, consumers can access financing, ranging from 6 to 36 months, to purchase a wide range of products or services. These financing solutions are available at more than 3,000 stores within blnk’s merchant network – spanning electronics, household appliances, automotive services, furniture and more. With the new funding, the company will extend  its tech capabilities, expand into new products, explore geographic expansion and launch its credit card programme, enabling customers to utilise the credit limit beyond its network.

Blnk is pioneering a transformative approach to financial risk assessment, replacing traditional, static markers with dynamic, data-driven risk maps. Blnk’s proprietary AI analyses hyper-local variables to identify patterns that inform precise credit decisioning. This shift from manual categorisation to algorithmic and dynamic mapping has resulted in a significant improvement in precision and predictive power for credit risk assessment. The company also utilises specialised machine learning models to provide real-time, precise Probability of Default (PD) predictions, enabling instant credit decisions with risk-based pricing.

Egypt’s consumer finance sector is expanding rapidly, reaching EGP 96.3 billion ($2.0 billion) in 2025, up 57.1% year-on-year, according to the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA). This growth signals the extent of rising demand for credit in the country. Yet structural gaps remain: fewer than an estimated 5% of adults have access to formal credit, and only 3.9% of women use credit cards or online lending tools. The result is a double-layer credit gap, where improved bank account ownership has not translated into meaningful access to usable credit, particularly for women. The data underscore a persistent disconnect between financial inclusion at the account level and actual participation in formal lending.

Since raising its seed round in November 2022, Blnk has demonstrated exponential growth, onboarding over 1 million customers and surpassing an EGP 1 billion loan portfolio. Notably, 75% of its user base was previously unbanked or underserved, and over 35% are female. The company reached profitability in 2025, fuelled by a 173% year-on-year revenue increase.

Amr Sultan, CEO and Co-founder of Blnk, said, “We’re proud to have secured the backing of some of the most respected investors in the region and beyond for this round of funding. Their continued belief in our mission is a powerful endorsement of what we’re building at Blnk. This new round of funding positions us to strengthen our profitability – expanding our reach, diversifying our offerings and doubling down on our commitment to unlocking financial access for millions of consumers in Egypt and beyond.”

Karim Hussein, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures, said, “Blnk’s ability to serve the underserved, particularly unbanked and underbanked consumers, while maintaining disciplined credit management, positions them as a category-defining player in Egypt’s consumer finance space. We’re excited to back them as they scale into new verticals and beyond.”

Sandra Rohleder, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of SANAD Fund for MSME, said, 'Blnk is redefining what financial inclusion looks like in emerging markets. Their ability to combine instant, point‑of‑sale lending with sophisticated risk‑assessment technologies has unlocked a completely new credit pathway for millions of underserved consumers. What impressed us most is their execution: the team has scaled to over one million onboarded customers, reached profitability, and delivered industry‑leading risk prediction capabilities that materially outperform traditional models. We believe Blnk is uniquely positioned to close Egypt’s deep credit access gap (particularly for women and the unbanked) and to set a new benchmark for digital financing across the region.”

However, a closer look shows that most of this growth was driven by debt financing, which made up 66% of the total funding raised during the month. Even without counting debt deals, startups still raised more capital and completed more transactions than in April, indicating a slight increase in investor activity.

Yet the year-on-year picture tells a different story. While capital deployment increased, the deal count declined by 57% compared to May 2025, suggesting that investors remain selective, favouring larger transactions over broader market participation amid continued regional uncertainty.

The usual ranking remains unchanged

The UAE maintained its position as the region's most-funded ecosystem in May, attracting $379 million across 15 deals. The figure was largely driven by Trukker's $300 million debt financing, which accounted for nearly 80% of all capital raised in the country during the month.

Saudi Arabia ranked second, with startups securing $70 million across 11 deals. The Kingdom recorded a 167% increase in funding value compared to April, reinforcing its position as one of the region's most active startup ecosystems.

Egypt followed in third place, with three startups raising a combined $5 million. While the country's funding levels remain subdued compared to its regional peers, Egypt continues to feature among the region's leading startup ecosystems by activity and entrepreneurial depth.

Logistics leads by value, SaaS by volume

Trukker's financing pushed logistics to the top of the sector rankings, attracting $300 million and accounting for nearly two-thirds of all capital deployed in May.

Fintech ranked second with $105.7 million raised across five deals, followed by HRtech, which secured $17.5 million through two transactions.

In terms of activity, SaaS emerged as the most active sector, recording seven deals worth a combined $1.8 million.

Debt dominates as investors favour mature companies

Debt financing remained the dominant funding instrument in May, accounting for $300.5 million across two transactions, or 66% of total capital raised.

Later-stage startups also attracted significant investor interest, with two Series B rounds raising a combined $68.4 million. Meanwhile, 21 startups at pre-seed, seed and Series A stages secured a total of $52.2 million.

B2B startups continue to attract the majority of capital

Business-focused startups remained investors' preferred destination, attracting $371.5 million across 24 deals.

Consumer-focused startups raised $85.7 million through six transactions, while the remaining capital went to startups operating across both B2B and B2C models.

Gender gap widens further

Funding remained heavily concentrated among male-founded startups. Companies founded solely by men secured $442 million across 28 deals.

Meanwhile, only two women-founded startups raised a combined $200,000 during the month. Startups founded by mixed-gender teams attracted approximately $12 million across three deals.

Year-to-date: $1.5 billion raised despite a challenging environment

Five months into 2026, MENA startups have raised approximately $1.5 billion, demonstrating the resilience of the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem despite ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges.

While funding remains below the exceptional levels seen during previous market peaks, activity has proven relatively resilient, supported by continued investor appetite for high-quality companies, particularly in the Gulf's more mature startup ecosystems.

Press release:

CNTXT AI, a UAE-based data and AI company, today announced the acquisition of Actualize, an enterprise AI company building dialect-aware Arabic voice agents for the GCC, powered by realistic Arabic speech models. The acquisition brings Actualize’s technology and team into CNTXT AI, strengthening its Arabic voice AI and enabling sovereign AI agents that can act on requests, not just respond to them, across enterprise and government environments.

Actualize adds capabilities in Arabic voice automation, conversational AI, and workflow automation. Its Arabic voice models, built natively for regional dialects, are recognized among the most natural-sounding in the market. Backed by a strong R&D team with senior engineers from companies such as Google, Nokia, Siemens and others, along with founders experienced in scaling and exiting startups, Actualize further strengthens CNTXT AI Engineering and R&D team. Its agent platform combines voice, chat, and workflow automation, enabling organizations to not only interact with users, but also complete actions such as bookings, updates, and transactions.

Together, CNTXT AI and Actualize give organizations a simpler, more complete path from raw data to production-grade Arabic AI systems. CNTXT AI contributes sovereign AI products including Munsit, along with training data and tools for testing and deployment. Actualize adds ultra-realistic Arabic voice models and the agent layer that lets those voices complete tasks across voice, chat, and back-office workflows. 

"Together, we offer enterprises and government entities Arabic voice agents that can be deployed securely, hosted in-region, and embedded directly into day-to-day operations," said Hassan Abu Sheikh, Co-Founder of CNTXT AI. The combined offering addresses a fast-growing GCC conversational AI market* projected to grow from about USD 400 million in 2025 to nearly USD 2.5 billion by 2034 as organizations accelerate investment in AI-driven services.

“This acquisition strengthens CNTXT AI’s mission to build sovereign AI that works in the real world,” said Mohammad Abu Sheikh, CEO of CNTXT AI. “Actualize brings technology that turns Arabic voice AI into agents that can complete tasks, voice models that make interactions sound natural and human, and a team that understands how Arabic is actually spoken in this region. Together, that helps customers move from pilots to live voice agents faster across the UAE and MENA.”

Founded in 2023 by Muhammed Shabreen and Khalid Ghiboub, Actualize has focused on tailored, hyperlocal AI transformation for enterprise customers across public, private, and non-profit sectors. Its technology is built for low-latency Arabic voice generation, enterprise workflow automation, GCC hosting, and deployment options including on‑premises and private environments for regulated use cases.

“AI is entering a new era where trust, localization, and real-world impact matter just as much as capability,” said Muhammed Shabreen, Co-Founder of Actualize. “Together with CNTXT AI, we are building Arabic AI infrastructure at native depth combining sovereign deployments, explainable systems, and foundational technologies to help shape the future of AI across the MENA region.”

Following the acquisition, Actualize’s technology will be integrated into CNTXT AI’s portfolio, supporting sectors such as customer service, banking, healthcare, media, and government with secure, Arabic-first AI. As part of the integration, Muhammed Shabreen will join CNTXT as CTO, while Khalid Ghiboub will lead AI model initiatives as VP of AI Models.

Press release:

Anara Impact Capital, an impact venture capital firm investing across the Middle East & North  Africa, today announced the first close of its debut fund at $48 million, marking a significant  milestone toward its $50 million target fund size. 

The fund will invest in Seed and Series A startups focused on learning, wellbeing, financial  access, and climate, each of which is central to the region’s long-term development.  

The fund aims to back companies that can deliver both strong financial returns and measurable  impact within their communities. 

The first close is anchored by a landmark coalition of institutional backers, including KfW, on  behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and  the European Commission; Dara Holdings; ISSF (Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund); and a  number of leading family offices and high-net-worth individuals from the region. 

Anara Impact Capital was spun out of Alfanar Venture Philanthropy, a UK-based organisation with more than 20 years of experience supporting impact enterprises across the Arab world.  Anara builds on Alfanar’s work with a particular emphasis on scaling businesses that can  generate impact and strong financial returns.  

The launch of the fund builds on Alfanar’s legacy and reflects growing demand for investment in  sectors with strong commercial potential and clear social and environmental relevance. 

Backing Founders in Underfunded Sectors 

Anara’s investment strategy is grounded in the conviction that key sectors across the region  remain persistently underfunded, despite representing some of its largest long-term  opportunities. 

The fund’s investment objectives will focus on the following pillars: 

• Learning: expanding access to education, skills, employability, and economic mobility • Wellbeing: improving access to financial, mental, and physical wellbeing solutions 

• Climate: helping communities and systems adapt to, mitigate, or respond to climate related pressures

A Differentiated Regional Strategy 

The fund targets businesses with proven early traction, strong founder-market fit, potential to  scale, and a commitment to positive change in the region. 

The fund is led by Nafez Dakkak, Mohamed Hussain, and Nadia Moukaddam. Together, they  bring experience across venture capital, venture building, operating roles, investment advisory,  and impact investing. 

Anara also benefits from a strong governance and advisory platform. Fadi Ghandour chairs its  Investment Committee, supported by a seasoned group of operators, investors, and ecosystem  leaders from across the region and beyond. 

Nafez Dakkak, Managing Partner Anara Impact Capital said: 

“Anara is here to prove that the region can develop scalable and global solutions to the most  pressing challenges of our time. We are inspired both by the founders we are supporting and  our own investors who are pioneering the way for intentional capital across the region. We are  on a mission to show that impact and returns can and do go hand in hand.” 

Thomas Reker, Portfolio Manager, KfW Development Bank, said:

“Bridging the financing gap for purpose-driven enterprises is essential for the sustainable  development of the MENA region. By anchoring this fund on behalf of the German Government  and the EU Commission, our goal is to drive meaningful job creation and empower visionary  entrepreneurs who are building solutions that help address shortcomings in society or the environment. This initiative is particularly committed to supporting social entrepreneurship—a  vital sector that traditionally faces severe hurdles in securing conventional financing. Investing in  Anara is an investment in a future where economic opportunity and strong social impact go  hand in hand.” 

Lubna Olayan, Chairwoman, Alfanar Venture Philanthropy, said:

“There is a depth of entrepreneurial talent across the region that is often underestimated. When  directed toward Anara’s core pillars – learning, wellbeing, and climate – this talent can generate  not only strong and sustainable returns but also meaningful and lasting impact.”  

Press release:

du, the leading telecom and digital services provider, today announced the launch of du Ventures, a $50 million corporate venture fund developed in partnership with Shorooq and designed to accelerate the next wave of digital innovations across the UAE and the broader region. The initiative marks a significant milestone in du's evolution beyond traditional telecom services into a comprehensive digital ecosystem player.

du Ventures will partner with promising startups and founders who are transforming emerging technologies into real-world solutions, focusing on companies across fintech, AI, cybersecurity, cloud, loyalty, gaming, enterprise solutions, and customer experience technologies. 

Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO at du, said: "du Ventures represents our commitment to driving meaningful digital transformation while contributing to the UAE's ambitions to build a globally competitive digital economy. " Through this platform, we are investing in technologies and founders that align closely with our strategic priorities. Leveraging du’s scale, infrastructure, and enterprise reach with startup innovation, we aim to accelerate the commercialisation of emerging technologies and create long-term value for our customers, shareholders, and the wider economy." 

The fund will be managed by Shorooq, a leading multi-strategy investment firm that will prioritise investments that fit du’s corporate strategy, with a significant share of investments dedicated specifically to UAE-based ventures.

Mahmoud Adi, founding partner at Shorooq, said: "Partnering with du on this initiative is a natural fit for Shorooq. We share a common belief that the region's most promising startups deserve access to both capital and the strategic infrastructure that du can offer. du Ventures will enable us to bridge the gap between innovation and scale, empowering founders to bring transformative solutions to market faster."

Press release:

Efham.ai, an AI education platform developed by Egypt-based NixAI, has secured an investment from Foras.AI to support its mission of building the first Arabic community dedicated to learning artificial intelligence in the Arabic language.

The investment comes amid growing demand for AI skills across the Middle East and North Africa, as individuals, startups, and businesses increasingly adopt AI-powered tools while facing limited access to specialised educational content in Arabic.

Efham.ai plans to launch more than 100 AI training lessons by the end of Q3 2026, targeting learners across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, and other Arab markets.

The platform is designed to make AI education more accessible by delivering content in Arabic and using Egyptian colloquial Arabic to simplify technical concepts and make them easier to understand and apply.

Beyond introducing the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, Efham.ai focuses on practical applications, helping users leverage AI tools for content creation, product development, entrepreneurship, fundraising, and the creation of new AI-powered income streams.

Foras.AI’s investment reflects a broader trend toward supporting startups that localise technical knowledge and deliver practical educational solutions tailored to Arabic-speaking users.

The transaction also highlights the rapid growth of the AI education market across the region, as a new generation of Arab startups works to make advanced technologies more accessible through specialised Arabic-language content.

Press release:

CargoX, an autonomous delivery platform based in the United Arab Emirates, announced today it raised $250 million from an investor group, led by BlueFive Capital.

The company will be led by Tomaso Rodriguez, the former CEO of Talabat. During his six years as CEO, Rodriguez grew Talabat more than ninefold to become the largest food delivery service in the Middle East and led the company through a $2 billion IPO in 2024, the largest global technology IPO of the year.

CargoX deploys driverless delivery vehicles across last-mile, middle-mile and long-haul logistics routes. The platform has been successfully piloted on public roads in the UAE, with commercial operations expected to commence shortly across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Anchor relationships have been established with leading e-commerce, retail and logistics operators, while regulatory engagement has been secured with key government entities, including Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and Abu Dhabi Mobility.

The funding will support the expansion of CargoX’s autonomous logistics network across the UAE and international markets, as well as continued investment in vehicle technology, operations infrastructure and strategic partnerships.

Tomaso Rodriguez, the CEO of CargoX, said, "The Middle East is ready for a step change in logistics efficiency, and autonomous delivery is no longer a future concept; it is happening today. With $250 million in funding, we now have the firepower to scale – starting in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, then globally."

BlueFive Capital is one of the world’s fastest-growing investment managers, with $15 billion in assets under management. Incorporated in Abu Dhabi Global Market and with offices in nine cities, including London, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Singapore and Beijing, the firm offers private equity, real estate, infrastructure and financial products to private wealth, institutional and retail clients.

Press release:

UAE-based super app Careem is entering a new ownership phase after Uber agreed to acquire a 12.5% stake in Careem Technologies from e& for $100 million in cash.

Under the agreement, e& will reduce its shareholding in Careem Technologies to 37.53% from 50.03% while Uber strengthens its ownership position in the company. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

The move marks another shift in Careem’s ownership structure following e&’s acquisition of a majority stake in the super app business in 2023 through a $400 million investment. At the time, Uber retained ownership of Careem’s ride-hailing operations while remaining a significant shareholder in the broader platform.

Founded in Dubai in 2012, Careem has evolved from a ride-hailing platform into a regional super app offering services including transportation, food delivery, grocery delivery, digital payments, and other consumer services across multiple markets.

Commenting on the transaction, Careem co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha said the move brings Careem and Uber back into “a closer, deeply familiar alignment" while maintaining e& as a strategic shareholder and long-term partner.

The deal comes as Uber continues expanding its presence across the Middle East and broader EMEA markets, while Careem remains one of the region’s most prominent technology companies and digital consumer platforms.

Careem was previously acquired by Uber in a $3.1 billion transaction completed in 2020, widely considered one of the largest technology exits in the Middle East. 

There is a moment before every flight that matters more than takeoff itself.

It is not dramatic or cinematic. From the outside, it often looks like nothing at all. A pilot reviews the conditions, studies the route, checks the aircraft, evaluates the weather, considers alternatives, and then makes a decision: go or no-go.

That decision is deceptively simple to underestimate because nothing visibly happens. If the answer is “go”, the flight proceeds. If the answer is “no-go”, the aircraft stays on the ground, the plan changes, and life moves on.

Over time, I have come to believe that this moment — the disciplined willingness to decide whether conditions truly justify action — is one of the most important lessons that flying can offer. For me, it has also become one of the most useful mental models in investing.

At 2Pi Ventures, we spend a great deal of time evaluating opportunities that appear promising on the surface: capable founders, large markets, compelling narratives, exciting technologies, and the kind of momentum that naturally attracts conviction.

In venture capital, as in aviation, there is always pressure to move. Opportunities appear time-sensitive. Markets reward decisiveness. Others may already be in motion. Often, the greatest temptation is not fear, but momentum itself.

But momentum is not judgement.

The conditions do not care what you want

That is where the idea of go/no-go becomes powerful.

In flying, a sound decision is not defined by optimism. It is defined by readiness. You may want the flight to happen. The destination may matter. The aircraft may be technically capable. But if the conditions are wrong — if the weather is deteriorating, visibility is poor, reserves are too tight, or your own readiness is compromised — the right decision may simply be not to depart.

What makes this difficult is that “no-go” can feel like a loss in the moment. It can feel overly cautious or like a lost opportunity. In reality, it is often a sign of maturity. A pilot who cannot say no should not be impressed by his willingness to say yes.

The same is true in investing.

One of the most underrated disciplines in venture capital is the ability to decline an opportunity not because it lacks promise, but because the conditions for participation are not right.

A company can be exciting and still not be investable for us. A founder can be talented and still not be ready. A market can be large and still be premature. A trend can be real and still be overheated.

The venture world celebrates conviction, and rightly so. But conviction without discipline is not a strength — it is a liability.

The hardest investment decisions are not always about identifying what could work. More often, they are about recognising whether the timing, structure, execution risk, and underlying fundamentals truly justify action now.

That is a go/no-go decision.

The easiest lie is the one you tell yourself

In both aviation and investing, there is a subtle but dangerous habit of rationalisation. Once we become attached to a desired outcome, almost any warning sign can be reframed as manageable.

In venture capital, customer concentration is called “focus.” Weak defensibility becomes “speed”. Poor unit economics become “temporary”. Execution risk becomes “ambition”.

This phase is where discipline matters most — not after the decision, but before it.

Flying teaches you to respect conditions that aren't concerned about your preferences. Weather does not respond to enthusiasm. A headwind does not weaken because the destination matters. Visibility does not improve because you are in a hurry.

Reality remains reality.

The question is whether you are willing to see it clearly before committing yourself to it.

Interest is not the same as readiness

That mindset has shaped the way I think about investing. At 2Pi Ventures, one of the most important distinctions we make is between interest and readiness.

We can be interested in a business and still decide not to invest. We can admire a founder and still conclude that the timing is not right. We can believe in a category and still decide that the current setup does not justify deployment.

That is not hesitation or lack of vision. It is a refusal to confuse possibility with preparedness.

This matters even more in today’s venture environment. Across global and regional markets, capital has become more selective, growth assumptions are being tested, and investors are under greater pressure to separate durable businesses from momentum-driven narratives.

In markets such as MENA, where cycles can shift quickly and capital conditions can tighten without warning, judgment matters even more. The ability to distinguish between genuine readiness and excitement disguised as readiness is becoming a defining advantage.

Every “go” comes with consequences

In the cockpit, a go/no-go decision is not about fear. It is about responsibility. Investing should be no different.

Once an aircraft is airborne, the nature of responsibility changes. You are no longer evaluating possibilities — you are managing consequences.

The same is true once capital is deployed. At that point, investors are no longer observing a narrative from a distance. They become part of the reality of execution, governance, support, and outcomes.

That is why the threshold for “go” matters so much. The quality of the decision shapes everything that follows.

None of this means waiting for perfect conditions. Neither flying nor investing allows for certainty. If we demanded complete visibility before acting, we would be grounded and unable to build anything meaningful.

The goal is not to eliminate uncertainty. It is to understand which risks are acceptable, which are manageable, and which are simply being ignored.

That distinction is where judgement lives.

Strong decision-makers are not seduced by motion

Over time, I have come to believe that strong investors, strong operators, and strong pilots share one important trait: they do not let themselves be seduced by motion.

They understand that activity is not the same as progress. They know that saying “not yet” can be just as wise as saying “let’s go.” And they recognise that walking away from a marginal decision often preserves their ability to make a better one later.

There is also humility in this approach. A no-go decision requires accepting that desire does not override conditions. It demands resistance to ego, urgency, and social pressure.

In that sense, no-go decisions are often less about caution than about self-command.

Some of the best decisions in both flying and investing leave little visible trace: a flight avoided, a term sheet withheld, a story dismissed.

These moments rarely make headlines. But they shape outcomes.

Sometimes restraint is the real conviction

Flying has reinforced for me that we do not prove our judgement when conditions are easy. It is proven in the moments when action is possible, attractive, and defensible — and restraint remains the better choice.

That is as true in the air as it is in venture capital.

At 2Pi Ventures, we are in the business of backing ambitious founders and bold ideas. That requires optimism. But real optimism is not blind. It is informed, structured, and grounded in reality.

And occasionally, the most disciplined way to protect long-term conviction is to make the hardest short-term decision of all: no-go.

Liquidity trumps everything. It gives you the confidence to keep building without panic, without knee-jerk decisions, and without sacrificing the people and capabilities you have spent years assembling.

When you have liquidity, you stay focused on products, on clients, on execution – not on firefighting. And when you are scaling, liquidity is what allows you to keep serving customers with discipline and attention even when the world outside is shaking.

I learnt this the hard way, and many times over. During my years running Aramex, I felt most secure in a crisis when we had cash. And we went through plenty: from the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and regional shocks to the 2009 financial crisis.

Every time, the pattern was the same. When we had liquidity, we performed well; we found solutions to our clients’ challenges during the crisis, we gained market share and we emerged stronger the day after.

Clients trusted us because we stayed focused on them. Suppliers stuck with us because we were reliable. Employees were loyal because we never used a crisis as an excuse to cut at their expense.

However, I have also been an investor in companies that struggled to stay upright when the region shook. The lesson is simple: this region is volatile; build for volatility. Always make sure you have at least 12 months of cash. Keep your best people. Stay focused.

And be very careful with the “spend until you make it” formula unless you truly have the cash and a real product-market fit to justify it.

Investors also have responsibilities in these moments. Support your best companies. Start with deep dives into your top performers: market, product, cash burn and runway.

Do not panic. Do not push founders into decisions you will both regret. Remember that employee morale is already fragile. People are dealing with crises at home and in the world around them. Do not add unnecessary pressure.

Crisis reveals everything. You learn who your founders really are, whether they can hold the company steady, and whether they can lead through uncertainty. And when you find the ones who can, and they need cash, that is when you double down. That is where the best returns come from.

Some of my best investments were made exactly this way. During the pandemic, Hande Cilingir, co-founder and CEO of Insider, reached out to raise another round of funding in the middle of the global Covid-19 shutdown.

A multi-channel customer experience and marketing platform is exactly the kind of startup that needed to be strong during the toughest times. We did not hesitate. It has strong and confident founders, deep product understanding and loyal teams, and retains absolute clarity about the day after. Today, Insider is a unicorn and a global leader.

Another example close to my heart is Maktoob, the first successful internet company in the Arab world. It raised money right before the dotcom bust. When the crash came in 2000, every serious competitor disappeared. Its co-founders, Samih Toukan and Hussam Khoury, stayed the course.

They preserved cash, stayed frugal, built one of the best tech teams anywhere and focused relentlessly on product-market fit. That’s exactly the discipline that led to real revenue and, eventually, a Yahoo acquisition in 2009.

From Maktoob came online auction site Souq (now Amazon.ae), and from both came the infrastructure for the region’s digital economy. All of it was built and proven during crises.

So the old adage rings true: never waste a crisis. Unfortunately, our region has plenty of them.

The bottom line is simple: everything is about the day after. Build for it. Fund for it. Lead for it. And when the dust settles, those who managed the crisis well will reap the rewards.

This article was originally published by Arabian Gulf Business Insight (AGBI).

As private capital becomes increasingly global, collaborative, and data-intensive, the limitations of that fragmented infrastructure are becoming harder to ignore. And a growing number of firms across the Gulf appear to be searching for a more integrated way to manage how opportunities are discovered, evaluated, and executed.

That is the space Dubai-based FinBursa is attempting to enter.

Built in the UAE and steadily expanding across the GCC, Singapore, and parts of Europe, FinBursa is positioning itself as an AI-native infrastructure company for modern private markets. Rather than offering a single-purpose tool, the company is building what it describes as an interconnected operating layer for investment firms through two complementary platforms: FinBursa Access and FinBursa 360.

At the centre of the company’s vision is a relatively simple idea: the firms that succeed in private markets over the coming decade may not necessarily be the ones with the largest networks alone but the ones capable of transforming those networks into structured intelligence, faster collaboration, and scalable decision-making.

That thesis is increasingly resonating across the industry.

Rebuilding private market workflows around connectivity

Despite managing billions of dollars in assets and increasingly sophisticated investment strategies, many private market firms still operate through disconnected workflows that evolved organically over time. A deal may originate through email, diligence materials may sit inside external data rooms, investor updates may happen across messaging platforms, while pipeline tracking often remains trapped inside spreadsheets.

The challenge, according to FinBursa, is no longer simply inefficiency. It is visibility.

As deal flow expands and institutions manage larger ecosystems of investors, advisors, founders, and co-investors, maintaining a centralised view across relationships, opportunities, diligence, and fundraising becomes increasingly difficult.

FinBursa’s response has been to build two interconnected products targeting different sides of the private market ecosystem.

FinBursa Access focuses on investor discovery and opportunity connectivity, while FinBursa 360 serves as the operational infrastructure layer behind institutional investment workflows. Together, the company describes them as a unified ecosystem designed for modern private markets.

Modernising opportunity discovery

Deal discovery remains one of the most relationship-driven and opaque areas of private markets. For founders and capital seekers, visibility often depends on personal introductions and tightly held networks. For investors, sourcing relevant opportunities can be equally fragmented across advisors, conferences, intermediaries, and informal channels.

FinBursa Access was built to make that process more structured.

Last month, the company officially launched the FinBursa Access investor application, allowing professional and qualified investors to discover and assess private market opportunities directly through mobile devices.

Through the platform, capital seekers can present fundraising opportunities in an investor-ready format while controlling access to materials through NDA-protected virtual data rooms. Investors, meanwhile, can browse opportunities, review materials, and engage directly through the platform itself.

According to the company, investor participation has accelerated particularly across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while the platform is also beginning to gain traction in Singapore and parts of Europe.

What makes the broader model more notable, however, is how closely FinBursa Access integrates with the company’s institutional platform, FinBursa 360.

Many of the investors active on FinBursa Access are also users of FinBursa 360, including family offices, fund managers, accelerators, and incubators. That overlap creates a feedback loop between sourcing and execution, allowing institutions not only to discover opportunities, but also to manage the workflows that follow from within the same ecosystem.

Building an AI-native operating system for investment firms

While FinBursa Access focuses on discovery, FinBursa 360 focuses on what happens after opportunities enter a firm’s pipeline.

The platform is designed as a front-office operating system for investment teams, combining deal management, CRM, fundraising workflows, investor onboarding, reporting, virtual data rooms, and AI-powered diligence within a single environment.

More importantly, the company says these systems are designed to operate as interconnected workflows rather than isolated modules.

Fundraising campaigns link directly to investor groups inside the CRM. Investor engagement feeds into pipeline visibility. Virtual data rooms integrate into diligence workflows. And AI operates across the platform.

That interconnected structure is becoming increasingly important as private markets evolve into more collaborative ecosystems involving multiple stakeholders simultaneously: investment teams, founders, advisors, co-investors, investment committees, and capital seekers.

According to FinBursa, many firms still manage those relationships through disconnected systems and fragmented communication channels. FinBursa 360 attempts to centralise those interactions through dedicated stakeholder portals that allow participants to collaborate around live opportunities inside the same environment.

In practice, the platform aims to move beyond functioning as a storage layer and instead position itself as a collaborative operating infrastructure for private markets.

Betting aggressively on AI

Perhaps the company’s strongest positioning revolves around AI itself.

FinBursa is making a deliberate bet that AI will become a non-negotiable layer within private market infrastructure over the coming years, particularly as investment firms face growing pressure to process larger volumes of information with leaner teams.

Due diligence alone can involve financial models, legal agreements, forecasts, cap tables, operational data, market reports, and customer information spread across dozens of documents. Reviewing that information manually is often time-intensive and operationally expensive.

FinBursa says its AI layer is designed to function almost like an embedded analyst across the platform.

Users can ask questions about uploaded deal materials, retrieve relevant documents, summarise VDR contents, generate investment overviews, assist with financial analysis, and conduct contextual market research linked directly to the investment opportunity itself.

The company emphasises that its objective is not to replace investment professionals but to reduce operational friction and allow teams to focus more heavily on judgment, strategy, and relationship management.

Turning CRM into relationship intelligence

One of the more ambitious parts of the platform is its approach to CRM.

In private markets, relationships often represent one of the most valuable institutional assets firms possess. Yet those relationships frequently remain fragmented across inboxes, calendars, spreadsheets, and individual employees.

FinBursa 360 attempts to centralise those interactions into a unified environment through Outlook integration, synchronising emails, contacts, calendars, and activities into a single system.

The platform can identify previous interactions with contacts, surface communication history, recommend follow-ups, and generate AI-assisted outreach drafts based on prior engagement.

For fundraising teams, the company says the platform can also recommend investors based on geography, sector focus, strategy, and historical investment behaviour, while helping institutions identify new LPs, co-investors, and strategic relationships beyond their existing networks.

The broader ambition, according to the company, is to transform CRM systems from passive databases into active intelligence layers capable of supporting growth, fundraising, and relationship development at scale.

A Gulf-built company with global ambitions

FinBursa’s emergence also reflects a wider shift taking place across the Gulf startup ecosystem.

Increasingly, regional startups are no longer building purely localised solutions for regional problems. Instead, a growing number are attempting to develop globally relevant infrastructure products from the UAE outward.

While FinBursa remains heavily focused on GCC markets today, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the company says it is already seeing growing international traction across Singapore and Europe.

And as private markets continue evolving into more connected, collaborative, and AI-driven ecosystems, FinBursa is betting that the next generation of investment infrastructure will be defined less by disconnected legacy systems and more by integrated intelligence, operational visibility, and AI-native workflows built from the ground up.

Press release:

RemotePass, the global employment, payroll, and spend platform founded in the UAE in 2021, has raised $17.4 million in Series B funding led by EBRD Venture Capital (EBRD), with participation from 500 Global and existing investors Oraseya Capital, 212 VC, Access Bridge Ventures, and Khwarizmi Ventures. RemotePass is also backed by early-stage investors BECO Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, and Wamda Capital. 

RemotePass is the only global employment platform with over five years of deep experience supporting businesses and workers across the Middle East and North Africa. The company provides 24/7 Arabic and English support, navigates complex local labour laws across the region, and has built payment rails in markets where most global platforms have limited reach. RemotePass is trusted by MENA companies such as Tabby and Careem, alongside global enterprises including Logitech, Tata Group and InDrive.

For workers across the region managing income in volatile local currencies, RemotePass solves a critical gap left by legacy providers: financial inclusion. The platform provides workers with access to USD accounts, global debit cards, and premium health insurance. In a region where currency devaluation and delayed cross-border payments directly impact talent retention, these financial tools provide a level of stability that most employers have never been able to offer.

"This round is about acceleration", said Kamal Reggad, CEO and Co-Founder of RemotePass. "Building a globally competitive platform from the region, in a market that incumbents underestimated, is something we are incredibly proud of. We know this region better than anyone, and we have built the financial tools that workers here actually need. At the same time, we are helping businesses around the world access world-class talent across the region. Now, we are taking that depth global.”

RemotePass reached profitability in early 2025, reflecting strong underlying unit economics. The company then made a deliberate decision to reinvest in expansion, bringing on EBRD and 500 Global as strategic partners for the next phase. The business has scaled to more than 35,000 workers across 150+ countries and facilitated over $800 million in cross-border payroll, with capital raised on a fraction of that of category leaders.

In late 2025, RemotePass launched SpendCards, embedding corporate expense cards into the same platform that pays the workforce, collapsing payroll, contractor payments, and spend into one system regardless of where a worker sits or how they are employed. The company has also rolled out AI agents that automate workflows across onboarding, compliance, and support, giving HR and finance teams an extension of their operations.

"RemotePass is uniquely integrating global payroll and financial products into a single AI-enabled experience. It lowers friction for employers operating across emerging markets while creating real economic opportunity for tens of thousands of workers. The business has reached meaningful scale on a 

fraction of the capital others in the category have raised — a signal of how disciplined Kamal and his team have been with execution. This is exactly the kind of company we set out to back: a team building a leading platform from an emerging market, with the product depth and commercial momentum to compete in Europe and the US. We look forward to supporting them through the next phase of growth." — Amine Chabane, Principal, EBRD Venture Capital

"RemotePass has built a robust platform that bridges workforce management and fintech into a single integrated stack. The emerging market depth, embedded fintech layer, and early AI investment create structural advantages that are hard to replicate. We backed this exceptional team because they are executing world-class infrastructure to solve a substantial problem as more businesses scale their workforces across borders." — Amjad Ahmad, Managing Partner, 500 Global

The Series B will fund expansion across Europe and the US, deeper compliance coverage in existing markets, and continued investment in the financial product surface and AI capabilities that have become defining features of the platform.

For more information, visit remotepass.com. 

Press release:

Jordan Capital and Investment Fund (JCIF) announced the official launch of Manara Ventures, a JOD 50 million (approximately USD 70.5 million) scale-up fund dedicated to supporting the growth of Jordan’s most promising technology- and innovation-focused companies. The fund also secured backing from regional institutional investors, including Abu Dhabi-based global investment firm Lunate. Manara Ventures was established in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and structured as a fully Sharia-compliant investment platform.

“The launch of Manara Ventures marks an important milestone in JCIF’s strategy to expand into venture capital and innovation-led investments,” said Hani Qadi, JCIF Chairman. “This initiative is fully aligned with Jordan’s vision of building a knowledge-based, high-value economy driven by entrepreneurship, innovation and private-sector-led growth. We believe Jordan has exceptional entrepreneurial talent, and Manara Ventures will help provide the capital and institutional support needed for these companies to scale.”

Luma Fawaz has been appointed CEO of Manara Ventures. She is widely recognised as one of Jordan’s leading figures in startup acceleration and venture ecosystem development, bringing more than two decades of experience supporting high-growth entrepreneurs and technology companies. 

Prior to joining Manara Ventures, Fawaz served as CEO of Oasis500, where she oversaw more than 180 early-stage investments and worked closely with over 2,500 entrepreneurs across the region. Throughout her career, she has played a central role in helping technology and media startups evolve from concept stage to investment readiness and scalable growth.

“I am honored to lead Manara Ventures at such an exciting moment for Jordan’s innovation ecosystem,” said Luma Fawaz. “Our ambition is to back exceptional founders and help them scale regionally and globally. Beyond delivering strong financial returns, the fund seeks to catalyse technological advancement, foster innovation and deepen regional collaboration across the broader startup ecosystem.”

Manara Ventures aims to accelerate the growth of Jordan’s digital economy, empower high-potential entrepreneurs and strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a regional hub for innovation and technology. The fund will invest in Jordanian technology and technology-enabled companies with strong growth potential, targeting over 20 growth-stage companies, with additional capital reserved to support up to 15 high-performing businesses pursuing regional expansion opportunities. Investments are expected to range from USD 750,000 to USD 3 million, including follow-on funding rounds.

“Manara Ventures reflects our shared commitment to unlocking the potential of Jordan’s entrepreneurs and supporting innovation across sectors that are critical to the country’s future economic growth,” said Faris Sharaf, JCIF CEO. “Through our partnership with Lunate, we are creating a strong bridge between Jordanian innovation and regional capital while building companies capable of competing and expanding beyond local markets.”

Press release:

In an insurance sector undergoing full digital transformation, where customer experience, reimbursement speed, and fraud prevention are becoming major strategic challenges, EYST Technology, co-founded by Tunisian entrepreneur Marwen Amamou, is redefining the standards of claims settlement.

In this context, 216 Capital announces its entry into the capital of EYST Technology through a six-figure investment to support the startup's technological acceleration and international expansion.

A technological breakthrough at the heart of the insured's journey

Founded in 2022, EYST Technology develops a SaaS platform that enables insurers to modernise claims settlement through the issuance of virtual bank cards instantly credited with the reimbursement amount.

This technology allows policyholders to immediately cover their expenses without having to pay upfront, transforming a model traditionally based on deferred reimbursement into an immediate, seamless, and integrated payment experience.

Accessible directly from insurers' mobile applications or web interfaces, EYST Technology's solution places user experience at the heart of the insurance journey while delivering greater speed, simplicity, and transparency.

A fundraising round to accelerate the product roadmap and international expansion

With this funding, EYST Technology plans to:

• Accelerate its product roadmap around new strategic features such as cashback, enhanced integration with insurers' information systems, and data intelligence.
• Strengthen its teams, particularly in the Sales and Data divisions.
• Prepare its international expansion into Europe, the United States, South America, the Middle East, and Asia.

This new milestone will enable EYST Technology to consolidate its position in the digital insurance market while accelerating the deployment of its technology among international insurance players.

“EYST Technology addresses a structural challenge in the insurance sector with a technological solution capable of profoundly transforming the claims-settlement experience. Their ability to combine payment instantaneity, data utilisation, and risk management constitutes a strong competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving market," states Dhekra Khelifi, Partner at 216 Capital.

EYST already has a multidisciplinary team of engineers based in Tunisia, actively contributing to the platform's technological development. This local presence reflects the startup's commitment to leveraging Tunisian talent to support its international growth.

A platform combining payment, data, and risk management

Beyond instant reimbursements, EYST Technology differentiates itself through its technology-driven approach centred on data control and monetisation.

The virtual payment cards issued by the platform notably allow:

• Restricting usage to specific spending categories or beneficiaries,
• Enhancing transaction traceability,
• More effectively detecting suspicious behaviour through real-time data analysis.

This approach gives insurers access to a new layer of transactional and behavioural data to improve reimbursement tracking, fraud detection, and decision-making.

By combining payment, data intelligence, and customer experience, EYST Technology positions itself as an innovative player at the intersection of InsurTech and payment technologies.

«The arrival of 216 Capital marks an important milestone for EYST. Beyond the funding, we share a common ambition: to modernise the claims settlement experience through a technology that combines instant payment, risk management, and intelligent data utilisation», states Marwen Amamou, Co-founder and CTO at EYST Technology.

Press release:

Arib, the Saudi digital financing marketplace, has raised $23.5 million in a funding round led by Merak Capital, as the company looks to expand its platform and strengthen its position within Saudi Arabia’s rapidly growing fintech sector.

The round also included Sharia-compliant Murabaha financing facilities, reflecting increasing investor appetite for Islamic fintech products and digital lending infrastructure across the Kingdom.

Founded in 2018 by Omar Alhammad, Mohamed Dessouky, and Waleed Talat, Arib operates a financing marketplace that connects users with banks and licensed lenders through a single digital platform. The company enables customers to compare financing offers and apply online based on their financial profiles and borrowing requirements.

Arib said the new funding will support the expansion of its technology infrastructure, accelerate product development, strengthen operational capabilities, and launch new financing products targeting both consumers and businesses.

The company is positioning itself to benefit from growing demand for faster and more flexible financing solutions among younger consumers, entrepreneurs, and SMEs in Saudi Arabia.

The funding also reflects broader momentum across Saudi Arabia’s fintech ecosystem, which is increasingly shifting toward infrastructure-focused startups in areas such as digital lending, embedded finance, and online onboarding.

The inclusion of Murabaha facilities in the round highlights the continued growth of Sharia-compliant digital financial products tailored to regional financing preferences.

As Saudi Arabia advances financial sector modernisation under Vision 2030, companies building digital financial infrastructure continue attracting investor attention as banks and lenders accelerate their digital transformation strategies.

Press release:

PlayReplay, an AI-powered intelligent court system for racquet sports, announced an investment from Alfvén & Didrikson (A&D). Leading this fundraise, A&D invests a total of $12 million alongside other investors, including Centre Court Capital, ExM Investment Partners, Charbe Partners, Crimson Sports Capital, and a fund managed by LionTree.

PlayReplay offers real-time electronic line calling (ELC), coaching tools, and analytics, enabling players to access advanced technology previously reserved for the highest professional tier. The technology is transformational, bringing fair play to tennis while making the game more data-driven and interactive. Players and federations worldwide appreciate the solution for its potential to drastically improve the sport and increase participation.

The investment will support PlayReplay’s continued international expansion and the further rollout of its technology across global markets. As part of this growth strategy, the company is also exploring an expansion into the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt identified as key markets.

To support these efforts, PlayReplay is partnering with Söderhub as its local partner in the Middle East to support investment opportunities and partnerships with regional institutions.

“PlayReplay technology is already proven and making waves in markets such as the US and Canada. We believe the Middle East represents a strong long-term opportunity, where ambition, investment, and appetite for next-generation sports infrastructure are accelerating,” said Magdy Shehata, Founder and CEO of Söderhub.

The investment will also support PlayReplay’s expansion into new sports and the further rollout of its technology across global clubs and federations.

“PlayReplay is one of the fastest-growing companies we’ve invested in, operating in a massive market with more than 250,000 courts in the U.S. alone. Hans, Mattias, and the team have built impressive technology with strong execution, and we’re excited to support them in the next phase of growth,” says Måns Alfvén, Co-founder of Alfvén & Didrikson.

"This investment marks a significant milestone on our roadmap to redefine the tennis experience for every player on the planet. The strong interest from investors serves as proof of our product's value and the traction we are gaining in the market. We are incredibly grateful for the resources, advice, and practical support that A&D has already provided, and we foresee a tremendously supportive collaboration,” says Hans Lundstam, CEO and Co-founder of PlayReplay.

“Seeing the technology we’ve built make a real difference for players, coaches, and federations is what drives us. This investment gives us the opportunity to bring that to many more courts and sports worldwide,” adds Mattias Hanqvist, CPO and Co-founder of PlayReplay.

About PlayReplay: PlayReplay aims to democratise tennis tracking, making it accessible to all. PlayReplay’s advanced technology promotes fairness across every level of competition and equips coaches with critical data to better support their players. PlayReplay is the only tracking solution that has achieved ITF silver-level classification for “real-time” and “review” ELC for indoor/outdoor use, respectively. To date, PlayReplay has been utilised in approximately 350,000 matches, generating ~ 150 million accumulated line calls. For more information, visit www.playreplay.io 

About A&D: Alfvén & Didrikson is an active and long-term backer of passionate entrepreneurs and teams with international growth ambitions. Since 2010, the firm has invested a total of more than SEK 3 billion ($317 million) in fast-growing Northern European companies such as Trustly, Quinyx, and Acast. A&D is an investment company with FAM (Wallenberg Investments), AP4, AltoCumulus, and Qarlbo as its largest external investors. For more information, visit www.alfvendidrikson.com 

About Söderhub: Söderhub is a Swedish boutique consultancy focused on connecting Nordic innovation companies with business opportunities across the Middle East and North Africa. Founded by serial entrepreneur Magdy Shehata and venture builder Aurore Belfrage, the company is led by entrepreneurs and investors with experience in the AI, gaming, and green transition sectors. Söderhub specialises in market entry, strategy, capital raising, and talent acquisition. The company supports businesses expanding into new markets through its regional expertise and network.

Press release:

Egypt-based mobility startup ARRW has secured a $4 million investment from Tasheed Egypt as the company looks to strengthen its position within Egypt’s rapidly evolving transportation and urban mobility sector.

The company announced the investment in an official statement, describing the deal as a key milestone in ARRW’s long-term expansion strategy and broader vision to build what it called a “safer, smarter, and technology-driven mobility platform” tailored specifically for Egyptian cities.

Founded as Egypt’s first licensed ride-hailing platform, ARRW has been positioning itself as a locally focused alternative within the country’s increasingly competitive transportation technology market.

According to the company, the new funding will support several strategic priorities, including expanding its driver – or "captain" – network, advancing technical infrastructure, and improving the user experience for its growing customer base. ARRW says the platform currently serves more than 200,000 users across Egypt.

The startup is also investing heavily in technology and operational scalability as demand for app-based transportation services continues to rise across major Egyptian cities.

In its announcement, ARRW said the investment reflects growing investor confidence in locally built mobility infrastructure and smart transportation solutions designed specifically around Egypt’s urban realities.

“As Egypt’s first and only licensed ride-hailing platform, this investment is a strong signal that the market is recognizing the value of what we are building,” the company stated.

ARRW added that the investment represents “more than growth capital", describing it as another step toward building a transportation platform powered by safety, innovation, and advanced technology.

The deal comes as Egypt’s transportation sector undergoes rapid digital transformation, driven by increasing smartphone adoption, urban congestion challenges, and rising demand for more efficient mobility solutions.

While international companies continue to dominate large parts of the ride-hailing market across MENA, local startups are increasingly attempting to differentiate themselves through localised operations, regulatory alignment, and city-specific transportation models.

ARRW said its expansion journey is “only getting started", signalling broader ambitions within Egypt’s growing smart city and mobility ecosystem.