Press release:

Msheireb Properties, Qatar’s leading sustainable real estate developer, and Inc. Arabia, the Middle East edition of the global media brand Inc., have revealed the expanded speaker line-up and agenda for the second edition of the Downtown Tech Summit, featuring headline speakers including Snoonu founder and CEO Hamad Al Hajri and Wamda Group Executive Chairman Fadi Ghandour.

The announcement comes as the inaugural Doha edition of the Best in Business Awards passes a milestone 180 nominations, prompting organisers to extend the submission deadline to 4 November 2026.

Taking place on 17 November, 2026, at Barahat Msheireb in Msheireb Downtown Doha, the Summit is organised with the strategic participation and support of various entities, including Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) and Siemens. The gathering will bring together leading venture capitalists, technology innovators, and regional business leaders, including:

• Hamad Al Hajri, founder and CEO, Snoonu (Qatar)
• Fadi Ghandour, Executive Chairman, Wamda Capital (UAE)
• Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner, Nuwa Capital (UAE)
• Soumaya Ben Beya Dridje, Partner, Rasmal Ventures (Qatar)
• Dr. Ammar Alali, founder and CEO, Strataphy (KSA)

Running from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM, the Summit features a dynamic format combining keynote presentations, panel discussions, and fireside chats. Topics being explored include how regional tech ecosystems can scale companies to compete globally, strategies for turning market disruption into growth opportunities, and practical applications of emerging technology to drive real-world business impact.

Additionally, the Summit will host the live pitch finale for the Azal Innovation Programme, an initiative launched by Doha Design District, part of Msheireb Properties, where shortlisted innovators and entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas directly to investors and industry experts.

The ecosystem showcase will conclude on 18 November, 2026, at Barahat Msheireb with the gala ceremony for the inaugural Qatar edition of the Best in Business Awards, honouring standout enterprises and leaders. Submissions are open until 4 November at [Link].

Noora Al Qubaisi, Acting Director of Corporate Communication at Msheireb Properties, said, "Bringing founders and investors of this calibre to Msheireb Downtown Doha provides Qatar’s business and tech community with direct access to leaders who have built and scaled landmark companies in the region. Alongside the remarkable response to the Best in Business Awards, this reflects a private sector that is confident, resilient, and expanding. Msheireb was intentionally designed to serve as a living platform for innovation and meaningful dialogue, and we look forward to welcoming the community to Barahat Msheireb this November.”

Anas Abbar, co-founder and Group CEO of 7awi Media Group, the media house behind Inc. Arabia, added, "Surpassing 180 nominations for the inaugural edition of the Best in Business Awards Doha speaks volumes about the ambition and maturity of Qatar’s business ecosystem. Extending the deadline gives more companies, founders, and leaders the opportunity to put their achievements forward. We look forward to celebrating their impact while also indulging in the insights shared by the visionary speakers taking the stage at the Downtown Tech Summit.”

Registration to attend the Downtown Tech Summit is now open at [Link].

Press release:

Ajman Chamber is preparing to launch the Thara Investment and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem during the inaugural Thara Connect Forum, scheduled for Thursday, 29 October 2026, at the Thara Entrepreneurship Centre in Ajman.

The event will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman, and in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman and Chairman of the Executive Council.

The forum will bring together leading investors, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and industry experts from the UAE and abroad, providing a platform for exchanging knowledge, strengthening connections, and exploring investment and partnership opportunities.

H.E. Eng. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Muwaiji, Chairman of Ajman Chamber, emphasised that the launch of Thara reflects the UAE leadership's vision of building a diversified and competitive economy in which entrepreneurs and startups play a key role in driving economic growth.

H.E. Maryam Khalifa Al Nuaimi, Chairperson of the Thara Investment and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, highlighted that Thara represents a significant step forward in Ajman's approach to the new economy through the development of an integrated environment designed to support entrepreneurs at different stages of their business growth.

The forum will feature a series of panel discussions and specialised networking sessions, alongside a startup exhibition showcasing innovative solutions and providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect directly with investors and business leaders.

The event is also expected to unveil further details about the Thara Investment and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, including its components, initiatives, and opportunities for supporting investment and entrepreneurship, reinforcing Ajman's position as an attractive destination for innovative businesses and emerging ventures.

Press release:

Madica, a structured pre-seed investment programme for African startups, today announced $6M in additional capital from Flourish Ventures to extend its investment pilot by three years. Building on lessons learned and early signs of traction across its portfolio, Madica will back 25-30 additional companies and deepen its company-building support for exceptional founders who are underserved by established venture capital networks. The extended pilot will build further evidence for Madica’s founding conviction: that these founders can build world-class businesses capable of generating venture returns when equipped with the right capital and support.

Launched in 2022, Madica set out to demonstrate that exceptional founders in Africa’s overlooked markets, sectors and networks can build globally competitive businesses with the right capital and support. The sector-agnostic programme has since backed 18 startups across 10 countries and 12 sectors, combining patient pre-seed capital with structured, hands-on company-building support. These companies have attracted, on average, twice Madica’s investment in additional funding, an early signal of investor confidence as they work towards the commercial outcomes needed to challenge prevailing assumptions about where venture-scale businesses can emerge in Africa.

The extended pilot will allow Madica to track how companies across a broader portfolio translate early traction into sustained business growth, examining the role of its investment and support model in that progress and assessing the potential to generate venture returns through exits. This continues the pilot’s original purpose: to build tangible evidence that can challenge assumptions about which founders and markets offer venture-scale opportunities in Africa. The findings will help refine Madica’s approach and provide practical lessons that other investors can adapt and apply.

“Madica was launched as an experiment to test whether pairing capital with hands-on company-building support could help overlooked founders building world-class businesses generate venture outcomes, and in many ways, our work sits at the intersection of the very many questions that underpin the state of early-stage venture investing in Africa. From the outset, we knew that gathering meaningful evidence would require years of investment, support and learning," said Emmanuel Adegboye, Head of Madica. “Three years have given us valuable lessons and encouraging early signals, but building enduring companies and assessing venture outcomes takes longer. Flourish Ventures’ continued commitment gives us the capital to build on those lessons and test our conviction across a broader portfolio while deepening our company-building support. We want the resulting evidence to give other investors a model they can apply, shaping where funding goes and how founders are backed across Africa, well beyond Madica”, he continued.  

Today, Madica’s portfolio spans over a dozen sectors, including climate-tech, semiconductors, AI, HR, biotech, mobility and more, reflecting the breadth of innovation emerging across the continent. The diversity is also evident in the volume and reach of applications, which span 28 sectors and 78 countries, with 40% coming from outside Africa’s four largest venture capital markets. This signals both the depth of untapped entrepreneurial potential across Africa and the urgent need for more inclusive funding pathways. Every company in Madica’s portfolio is majority African-owned, more than 50% have at least one female co-founder, and 39% are led by female CEOs, demonstrating a deliberate approach to identifying and backing talent that established investment networks have often overlooked.

“We retain our conviction that with the right capital and support, exceptional talent across Africa can build world-class businesses. Madica’s first three years have strengthened that belief, and we are excited to continue backing the team as they help more entrepreneurs achieve that mission,” said Efayomi Carr, Investment Partner at Flourish Ventures and Co-founder of Madica.

Madica continues to seek exceptional founders building early-stage startups across Africa. To pitch your startup, visit the Madica website. Eligible startups must have a minimum viable product (MVP) with proven traction from a few paying customers, founder(s) engaged full-time, little or no institutional funding, and be headquartered in Africa.

Press release:

Rently, the platform that lets tenants choose how and when they pay rent, has secured a $12 million growth credit facility from January Capital, a leading technology investment firm backing high-growth companies across Asia Pacific and beyond.

The facility allows Rently to fund more deals, extending Rent Now Pay Later and its broader rent flexibility offering across its existing markets, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE, and into new ones, helping the next thousands of tenants on their housing journey.

The big picture: one platform, three markets

Rent is the largest recurring expense for most households, reaching up to 40% of monthly household income in Rently’s markets¹, yet it is still paid in rigid, upfront and unrewarding ways. Rently is now running at over USD 50 million in annualised rental volume. Year to date, volume is nearly three times the same period of 2025, with more than 2,400 tenants paying rent through Rently. The same platform adapts to how each market rents: monthly payments instead of upfront cheques in the UAE; rewards on rent and flexible payment dates in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Zoom in: the UAE

Dubai alone registered almost 1.2 million tenancy contracts in 2025. Yet many residents still pay up to a full year of rent upfront in one to four cheques, while earning a monthly salary. Easing that upfront burden has become a policy priority: in June 2026, the Dubai Land Department launched Flexi Rent to let tenants pay rent monthly.

Rently’s Rent Now Pay Later (RNPL) closes that gap: tenants pay rent monthly, while landlords continue to receive structured, timely payouts. Rently has already handled more than AED 100 million worth of rental contracts in the UAE. Its rental transaction volume has grown more than fivefold year on year, and growth has kept accelerating quarter after quarter, right through a year of regional conflict. Rently works with real estate agencies like White & Co as well as Co-living firms and property managers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Taimur Khan, Managing Director, Middle East, said, "People in the UAE earn monthly, but most still pay rent upfront in a handful of cheques. That is the gap we are closing. We now bring on more tenants in a single quarter than we did in the whole of 2025, and this facility means we can say yes to many more tenants and to the agencies and landlords we work with, as demand keeps climbing.”

Jason Edwards, Partner, Growth Credit, January Capital, added: “Rently addresses a real financing constraint for tenants across different rental markets. This investment underscores January Capital's commitment to supporting fast-growing companies in the Asia-Pacific region with flexible, non-dilutive credit solutions and we are pleased to partner with Rently through this next phase of growth.”

Shiv Mahajan, CEO of Rently, commented, "Rent is the biggest payment most people make and still the least flexible. Our ambition is to triple the number of tenants we serve over the next 12 months and become the leading rental payments platform in every market we operate in. This facility gives us the capital to serve more tenants as we scale, while keeping our equity focused on building new products, investing in technology and expanding into new markets.”

The facility strengthens Rently’s capital stack as the company prepares for a $10-15 million Series A equity raise to double down on its core offerings and expand into new markets in 2027 and beyond. Rently is leveraging AI to accelerate its growth and automate much of how it operates, so it can keep scaling efficiently as volumes grow. Rently previously raised $3 million in Pre-Series A funding from investors including Hustle Fund, 5I Ventures, Woh Hup, Orvel, Orange Bloom and Feedback Ventures.

Press release:

Today, YouTube announced the launch of its Shopping affiliate programme in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The program allows creators to tag products directly in their content and earn a commission on purchases, helping connect regional brands and sellers with highly engaged audiences. The first phase launches with Amazon as an affiliate partner, with plans to expand to more retailers soon. 

Globally, people watch more than 40 billion hours of shopping-related content on YouTube each year. In June 2026 alone, over 40 million logged-in users across countries in the Middle East & North Africa (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia & the UAE) made shopping-related searches on YouTube. 

Today, people browse videos along with traditional shopfronts and come to YouTube for authentic product reviews and recommendations. According to a survey conducted by Kantar, surveyed viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE agree that YouTube has the best shopping-related content, including instructional videos (94%), product reviews (85%), and unboxing videos (80%). The survey also indicated that 86% say that YouTube has the most trusted creators for product recommendations while shopping and 84% of surveyed viewers in Saudi agree that YouTube helps them make more confident shopping decisions.

YouTube Shopping lets viewers go from watching a video to merchant checkout with a simple click, making it easier for brands to connect with customers while their product is on-screen and being recommended by creators they trust.

"Launching YouTube Shopping in Saudi Arabia, the UAE & Egypt opens a massive new chapter for the creator economy, giving creators another, practical way to build their businesses while offering brands a way to connect with highly engaged audiences”,  said Javid Aslanov, Head of YouTube in the Middle East & North Africa. “Our affiliate partnership with Amazon helps connect businesses of all sizes with customers at the exact moment they’re looking for recommendations," he added. 

The launch gives regional creators a way to make money earlier in their journey, with a lower eligibility threshold of 500 subscribers. Creators who meet eligibility criteria can now tag products from Amazon and earn competitive commissions when viewers make a purchase, including viewers outside the region where YouTube Shopping is available.

Sumit Kapoor, Director of Marketing and Prime, Amazon Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey, commented, "This collaboration with YouTube brings together the power of authentic creator recommendations and Amazon's trusted shopping experience. We're excited to give creators across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt a new way to connect their audiences with millions of products, while helping customers discover and buy what they need seamlessly."

Ayatee also expressed excitement for the launch and its impact on her community of almost 11 million subscribers, saying, "From viral beauty hacks to the crazy gadgets I test in my 24-hour challenges, people always want to know if what they see is worth buying.” She adds, “YouTube Shopping makes sharing these great finds effortless." My community can click and check out right as I'm using the product on camera, which completely levels up how I connect and engage with my fans.”

YouTube Shopping is designed for seamless discovery across every screen. YouTube uses Google AI to automatically identify products in videos and suggest tags, saving creators hours of manual work. Additionally, viewers watching YouTube on their television can now scan an on-screen QR code with their mobile device to complete purchases instantly. 

The launch marks the beginning of YouTube Shopping’s expansion in the Middle East & North Africa, with plans to work closely with more local and international retailers in the future.

Today, the largest cheques written to MENA scaleups do not buy shares. They are renting balance sheets. Yet most founders still picture their financing journey as a ladder of lettered rounds, each rung purchased with another slice of the cap table. That mental model is now costing them real money.

The biggest financing announced at Money20/20 Riyadh in September 2025 was not a venture round. It was Tamara's Shariah-compliant asset-backed facility of up to $2.4 billion, anchored by Goldman Sachs, Citi and Apollo. The deal refinanced and quadrupled a $500 million package arranged barely a year earlier. Two years before that, Tabby had set the precedent with a $700 million receivables securitisation from J.P. Morgan, the first in the region.

Start with the arithmetic of dilution, which founders discuss constantly and calculate rarely. Raise $10 million at a $40 million post-money valuation, and you have sold a quarter of your company. If that business eventually exits at $500 million, the round costs $125 million, an effective price few would pay knowingly for working capital that a lender might have advanced against receivables at a mid-teens all-in rate.

Equity is the most expensive capital a growing company will ever raise, and it is priced at the moment of maximum uncertainty about what the company will become. That is precisely why it belongs where uncertainty lives: in product bets, new markets and unproven teams, not in financing inventory, receivables or invoices that behave predictably month after month.

The regional data already reflects this logic, even if the headlines do not. MAGNiTT's widely quoted figure for 2025, $3.8 billion raised across 688 deals, counts equity only. Include debt, and the year's true capital flow roughly doubles to about $7.5 billion, with Tamara's facility the largest single component.

The quiet story of the MENA venture in 2025 was that non-dilutive capital matched dilutive capital almost dollar for dollar. And the first half of 2026 made the lesson urgent rather than academic: Equity funding fell 22% year over year to $1.35 billion, international investors cut deployment by nearly two-thirds, and local investors supplied 81% of all venture capital, their highest share in five years.

When equity gets scarcer, it gets more expensive. Selling ownership into that market to fund things that debt could fund is poor treasury management dressed up as momentum.

The practical question is which instrument fits which need. The matching principle is simple: Lenders finance what they can see, measure and, if necessary, seize.

A company generating receivables at scale, whether a buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform, an SME lender or a B2B marketplace offering payment terms, is sitting on a financeable asset. That is why Saudi lender Lendo signed a $53 million Murabaha with Jadwa to fund SME financing and why UAE-based CredibleX secured a $100 million facility from Pollen Street Capital.

Businesses with contracted, recurring revenue can raise against those contracts through revenue-based structures without touching the cap table. Trade- and inventory-heavy models suit invoice discounting and supply-chain finance; a market of regional banks and specialist funds are entering aggressively as they chase the GCC's estimated $250 billion SME credit gap.

Equipment, fleets and infrastructure belong with leasing and term debt. Even Bahrain's consumer lender FLOOSS, a fraction of Tamara's size, funds growth through a $22 million Shorooq-backed credit facility rather than repeated equity raises.

The pattern across all of these is the same: Predictable cash flows were separated from the venture story and financed on their own merits.

Getting there requires becoming what lenders call debt-ready, and this stage is where founders should be honest with themselves. Credit investors do not underwrite vision; they underwrite data.

Twelve to 18 months of clean cohort performance, receivables ageing, you can produce on demand, audited financials, functioning collections and unit economics that comfortably clear the cost of the facility are the entry ticket.

So is timing. The reliable rule is that debt is available in inverse proportion to how desperately you need it. That argues for raising facilities from a position of strength, with a year or more of runway, rather than as a bridge when equity talks stall.

Founders should also read the fine print with adult eyes: Covenants bite, amortisation schedules do not care about your product roadmap, and a facility whose tenor is shorter than the assets it funds is a liquidity crisis on a timer.

Debt is not cheap equity. When used to fund losses rather than assets, debt accelerates failure rather than deferring it.

MENA founders hold one structural advantage their peers elsewhere do not: The region's deepest liquidity pools are increasingly organised around instruments that suit this shift.

Shariah-compliant structures such as Murabaha and asset-backed facilities engineered to Islamic finance principles, as Tamara's was, unlock Gulf institutional capital that conventional venture debt never reached.

Saudi Arabia's private credit market, though young, reached $3.7 billion in 2024 after growing tenfold, and regional funds are being raised specifically to lend against SME and fintech assets.

The capital is arriving; the constraint is the number of companies structured to receive it.

None of this argues against venture capital, which remains the right instrument for the genuinely uncertain work of building something new. It argues for layering: equity for the bets, debt for the machine, and a finance function sophisticated enough to know which is which.

The scaleups that define this region's next decade will not be the ones that raised the most rounds. They will be the ones whose founders still own enough of the company at exit for the journey to be worth it.

Press release:

Ghanem, a company that specialises in fractional real estate ownership in Saudi Arabia, has closed an additional $1.5 million in funding, with participation from real estate companies and a group of strategic angel investors.

The funding extends the company’s pre-seed round, which previously raised $7.1 million with participation from Al-Romaih Group, bringing the total round, including the extension, to $8.6 million. Waad VC has also invested in the company.

The announcement follows a series of operational milestones for Ghanem. These include the execution of several real estate investment transactions through the company, a registered user base now numbering in the thousands, and the start of rental income distributions to investors without any payment disruptions.

Ghanem successfully issued digital ownership deeds to 580 individuals participating in the first income-generating real estate investment opportunity offered through the Ghanem app, documenting their fractional ownership stakes in the property.

Ghanem has also signed an agreement for digital integration with the Real Estate Registry (RER) and activated the connection, which is now live. This enables fractional ownership interests to be registered and deeds to be issued in investors’ names as part of an integrated digital experience. The initiative forms part of the platform’s technical and operational development and its efforts to simplify the property ownership process.

The company joined the regulatory sandbox of Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate General Authority (REGA) several months ago and launched its fractional ownership product within that environment, allowing the model to be tested and developed under regulatory supervision.

Ghanem provides access to Saudi real estate investment through fractional ownership of income-generating properties, with amounts starting at SAR 1,000, depending on the opportunity. The model combines the potential for rental income with ownership of a stake in a tangible real estate asset, which may support long-term investment stability. Properties undergo verification, due diligence and valuation before being offered on the platform, including reviews of ownership and relevant documents and valuations by accredited valuers.

All of Ghanem’s products have been approved as Sharia-compliant by the Sharia committee.

Saleh Waheed Al-Ghamdi, CEO and Co-Founder of Ghanem, said, "We are working to make property ownership more accessible through a clear digital experience and ownership documented in the investor’s name. We have executed real estate investment transactions, distributed monthly dividends with zero delays, attracted thousands of registered users, and activated our digital integration with the Real Estate Registry. These achievements give us a practical foundation on which to develop our services and improve the investor experience.”

Al-Ghamdi added, "This pre-seed extension provides important support for the next stage of our journey. We value our investors’ trust and the participation of real estate companies and strategic partners with direct market experience. We look forward to drawing on this expertise to develop our product, diversify real estate opportunities, and build partnerships that support Ghanem’s growth, while continuing to develop our solutions within the Real Estate General Authority’s regulatory sandbox.”

Ghanem was founded in 2025 by Saleh Waheed Al-Ghamdi and Amr Essam to develop fractional real estate ownership solutions and serve individuals and institutions in the Saudi market.

Press release:

FinBursa launches FinBursa 360 – the intelligent front office for private markets, built to run a firm end to end: investment CRM, deal management from origination to execution, virtual data rooms (VDR), fundraising campaign management, investor onboarding, investor reporting, and portals for investors and counterparties, all on one system of record used by both the sell side and the buy side.

Until now, a private markets firm's technology has been a mix of legacy systems and disconnected tools. FinBursa resolves this challenge with one system, under one contract, that holds the firm's relationships, deals, documents, and the counterparties it works with, with AI built in by design.

"Most private markets firms have spent heavily on AI and say it isn't delivering yet. AI is only as useful as the information it can access and the actions it is permitted to take. For many firms, that information sits in five or six systems," said Ismail Badereldine, co-founder and CEO of FinBursa. "Building or buying an AI layer across those systems is expensive and slow. Every new feature means more integration work, the firm has to keep permissions consistent across all of them, and it needs constant maintenance as each vendor changes its own system. We built FinBursa differently: one system for relationships, deals, and documents, and the investors, buyers, and advisers the firm works with, with AI built in. The orchestrator agent sees the full record and acts within one set of permissions and one audit trail, without another layer of technology to pay for or maintain.”

AI Built Into The Platform, Not Wrapped Around It FinBursa's AI comprises five live specialized agents covering relationships, deals from origination to pitch, due diligence and execution, data rooms, fundraising and research – supported by an orchestrator that coordinates them across the firm's record.

Rather than operating inside isolated applications, the orchestrator draws on connected information across the firm's front office, including emails and meetings, deal histories, data room activity and questions, fundraising and investor activity, documents, notes, and any pertinent news. It uses this context to answer questions and provide source-backed insights for deal origination, preparation, due diligence, fundraising, and investor relations; and rank daily priorities for the team.

A firm can ask the agents to identify investors or buyers suited to a deal. Drawing on previous deals, data room activity, and CRM history, the agents can suggest matches and draft the outreach for the team to review. Nothing is sent without human approval.

Built For Where Private Markets Are GoingFinBursa was co-founded by Ismail Badereldine, a former BlackRock director with more than two decades of experience in financial markets and investment technology, including at eFront, alongside investment banking and private markets veterans. Its leadership team has specialized experience building and running the industry's leading institutional platforms.

"Private markets are growing and getting more competitive: more investors to serve, more deals to manage, and more data and compliance requirements," said Badereldine. "AI can carry much of that work, but only if it can see the firm's data and act within its permissions. By bringing those capabilities into one system, we are enabling firms of all sizes to move faster and compete more effectively without adding complexity.”

Live in Days, Not Months FinBursa 360 can be configured to each firm's workflows and branding, allowing clients to operate under their own brand. Firms can go live in days rather than months. FinBursa is ISO 27001:2022 certified and SOC 2 Type 1 attested.

Press release:

INVE, a Saudi-based technology company that provides personalised invitations and event-management tools for consumers and businesses, has raised $300,000 in pre-seed funding from Outliers Venture Capital. INVE will use the investment to bring its business platform, launched in August 2026, to more companies and to grow its consumer product, proven with weddings, into the go-to for every occasion.

For business hosts, guest information is often scattered between spreadsheets, inboxes, and WhatsApp conversations, so details gathered for one event may get lost when preparations begin for the next gathering. INVE keeps a living profile for every guest that enriches automatically as they engage, holding whatever a host cares to know, from dietary preferences and interests to their full attendance history, ready for every future event.

Hosts use that information to personalise invitations sent from their own email addresses and company WhatsApp numbers without rebuilding guest lists or repeatedly requesting the same information. RSVP pages, registration pages and digital entry passes also carry the host’s branding, keeping their identity visible throughout the guest experience. INVE’s business platform is built for companies that treat their events as part of their brand, from technology companies, venture firms and financial services businesses to the agencies that host on their behalf.

Founder Abdulrahman Alabdulkarim, now 23,  built the first version of INVE in 2024 to simplify invitations and RSVP management for his sister’s wedding. The solution grew into a consumer product that has supported  250 events in over 60 cities and towns in Saudi Arabia and the GCC, sending more than 35,000 invitations with an 88% RSVP response rate. With both products live, INVE will invest in its team, brand and channels to scale them, from weddings and birthdays to business dinners and summits.

Abdulrahman Alabdulkarim, Founder and CEO, INVE, said, "The guest experience doesn't start when someone walks through the door, and it doesn't end when they leave. From the first invitation to the next time you host, every interaction matters. But creating that experience often means juggling spreadsheets, messages, and different tools, with valuable guest information fragmented across them. We're building INVE to bring the entire hosting experience together, making it easier to host at any scale while building on the relationships that matter. Our vision is for INVE to become the infrastructure behind how people and businesses host across the Gulf. With Outliers behind us, we're bringing that vision to more hosts across the region.”

Outliers, an operator-led venture capital firm backing early-stage founders, became INVE’s first paid business design partner before investing. The firm has been using the platform to manage invitations and guest communications under its brand, including for its forthcoming Builder Summit.

Sarah AlSaleh, General Partner at Outliers VC, said, "Working with INVE as a design partner before investing gave us conviction in both the product and Abdulrahman’s ability to execute. He combines deep technical expertise with an instinctive understanding of hospitality in the region, turning something deeply personal into technology that can scale without losing its human touch. INVE brings that same philosophy to both consumer and business engagement, making every interaction more intentional and every relationship more valuable. We’re proud to back Abdulrahman and the team as they redefine how people and businesses connect."

INVE’s self-service product is accessible internationally, while its immediate customer acquisition priorities are Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Longer-term ambitions include developing its business customer base in North Africa, other African markets and Europe.

A software engineer by background, Alabdulkarim previously worked on backend and infrastructure systems at Lean Technologies. He graduated from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, where he was the university’s second recipient of the President’s Medal for Entrepreneurship for INVE.

Ziina, the UAE’s homegrown consumer and business financial platform, has secured its Retail Payment Services Category III license and authorization to conduct Exchange Business Category IV activities under its existing Stored Value Facility license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), becoming the first homegrown UAE fintech company to hold regulatory authorizations spanning all three activities.

The approvals mark the completion of Ziina’s latest phase of regulatory licensing with the CBUAE and represent a significant milestone in the company’s growth. Together, these licenses give Ziina the regulatory foundation to expand the range of financial services it offers consumers and merchants through one platform, from receiving and holding money to spending, domestic payments and international transfers.

Ziina first received its Stored Value Facility license in 2024, authorizing the company to launch its digital wallet. The newly awarded Retail Payment Services Category III license significantly expands its regulated capabilities, covering merchant acquiring, payment aggregation, and domestic fund transfers. The license provides full regulatory authorisation for Ziina’s merchant acceptance products, including payment links, QR payments, Tap to Pay and its online payment gateway.

In August 2026, the CBUAE also authorized Ziina to conduct Exchange Business Category IV activities under its existing Stored Value Facility license, originally granted in June 2024. This additional authorization expands Ziina’s regulated capabilities to include international money transfers through digital channels, including directly through the Ziina app.

Faisal Toukan, Co-Founder and CEO at Ziina said:

“We’re thankful for the continued support of the Central Bank of the UAE. These licenses give us the regulatory framework to build faster and go further. When we launched Ziina in the UAE, we believed that we could build the next generation of financial products from this market, for the region. That conviction has only grown. Today, people use different apps and providers for different parts of their financial lives. We want to bring more financial services into one platform, from spending and holding money to sending it abroad. When more of your financial life is in one place, you have more control over your money. Our ambition is to take what we build here to enable financial freedom across the Arab world.”

The milestone comes as Ziina reaches scale. The company now serves more than 500,000 customers annually, processes more than $1.5 billion in annualised payment volume and is used by one in 10 UAE SMEs. The wider UAE market is also growing at significant scale. CBUAE’s Annual Report 2025 shows that retail transfers processed through the UAE Funds Transfer System reached AED 9.9 trillion across 114.9 million transactions in 2025, with transaction value up 19.9% and transaction volume up 17.8% year on year. The figures point to a large and increasingly active market for digital financial services in the UAE.

Ziina is investing in the products, technology and infrastructure to bring more financial services onto one platform, starting in the UAE and extending across the Arab world.

-ENDS-

Ziina

Dima Zalatimodima.zalatimo@ziina.com

Bridges Communications

Simran Randhawasimran@bridges-communications.com +44 7548277648

Notes to Editors

About ZiinaZiina is a UAE based licensed fintech platform founded in 2020 by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan and Talal Toukan. Built for consumers and businesses alike, Ziina provides a fast and secure way to spend, receive, and manage money. Its mission is to enable financial freedom for every person in the Arab World.

Ziina combines award winning design with products that support everyday financial needs, including instant transfers, customizable payment links, QR code payments, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, and the Ziina Card available through Apple Pay and Google Pay. Its lifestyle membership program, Ziina Violet, offers benefits from the UAE’s most loved brands and zero currency fees on global spends with the Ziina card.

Licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, Ziina is committed to transparency, offering its services without initiation fees or hidden charges. With its user-friendly interface and growing ecosystem, Ziina is a trusted financial partner to over 500,000 annual business and consumer users in the UAE. 

More information at ziina.com 

Press release:

MNT Tech Holding for Financial Investments SAE (the “Company” or  “MNT-Halan”) celebrated today the commencement of trading in its shares on the Egyptian  Exchange (EGX), under the ticker symbol HALN.CA, following strong investor demand for its  initial public offering (IPO). The milestone was marked by a bell-ringing ceremony attended by  senior government officials, financial regulators, EGX leadership, MNT-Halan’s board members,  executives and representatives of the banks, asset managers and advisors involved in the  offering.  

The listing represents a significant milestone in MNT-Halan’s growth journey, opening a new  chapter for the Company as a publicly traded business. Founded in 2018, with roots dating back  to 2009, MNT-Halan has grown into a diversified financial services platform offering solutions  across lending, payments, investments and e-commerce. Through the Company’s subsidiaries  encompassing Halan and Tasaheel, amongst other subsidiaries (together the “Group”), the Group  has served approximately 7.9 million customers since inception, with approximately 1.9 million  active customers annually, and disbursed more than EGP 178 billion in financing as of 30 June  2026. Its technology-driven ecosystem and extensive distribution network enable it to meet a  broad range of financial needs and expand access to financial services across Egypt. 

The IPO attracted strong demand from both institutional and retail investors. The Private Tranche  was 11.2 times oversubscribed and 19.4 times excluding cornerstone investors, while the Public  Tranche was 43.6 times oversubscribed, attracting more than 41,500 subscription orders. The  offering comprised the sale of 320 million existing ordinary shares by MNT Investments B.V.,  representing 20% of MNT-Halan’s issued share capital prior to the closing of the subscription  process. Of these, 272 million shares were allocated to the Private Tranche and 48 million to the  Public Tranche. 

Omar Radwan, Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), said, "MNT-Halan has demonstrated  an inspiring model of how ambitious ideas and ventures can evolve into leading institutional  entities capable of leveraging technology and innovation to serve millions of citizens. Today,  through its entry into the capital market, the company reaffirms that the stock exchange offers  the most efficient and equitable avenue for providing liquidity and financing future expansion  through a diverse range of instruments, while strengthening its brand positioning and  enhancing its corporate governance.” 

Radwan added that listing and offering shares on the capital market for major companies and  institutions goes beyond merely raising capital and diversifying funding sources at the lowest  possible cost. Rather, it serves primarily as a vital safeguard for ensuring their long-term  sustainability and continuity across generations by institutionalising sound corporate governance  practices, promoting transparency, and safeguarding shareholders’ wealth. 

Mounir Nakhla, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of MNT-Halan, said, "We are proud to begin trading on the Egyptian Exchange, marking an important milestone in 

our journey. The strong demand for our IPO reflects investors’ confidence in Egypt, the financial  ecosystem we have built, and our growth trajectory. As we enter this next phase, we remain  focused on broadening our product ecosystem, deepening customer engagement and leveraging  our proprietary technology to reach more customers and drive sustainable growth. We thank the  Egyptian government, the CBE, the FRA, the EGX, our banking partners, asset managers and  everyone who contributed to bringing this offering to fruition. We are also grateful to every  international investor, family office, and individual who are helping us create a lasting, positive  impact in Egypt.” 

Citigroup Global Markets Limited and EFG Hermes Promoting and Underwriting S.A.E. acted as  Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners for the Offering. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP  acted as U.S. and English legal counsel, and Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy acted as Egyptian legal  counsel, in each case to MNT-Halan and the Selling Shareholder. White & Case LLP acted as U.S.  and English legal counsel, and MHR & Partners in association with White & Case LLP, acted as  Egyptian legal counsel in each case to the Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners. 

Press release:

theQA, Kuwait’s first AI-powered consumer research platform, has raised over US$550,000 in a pre-seed round backed by a Kuwaiti family office and strategic angel investors. The funding will support scaling the platform in Kuwait.

theQA enables businesses, agencies, and researchers to create surveys, target relevant audiences in Kuwait, and collect consumer feedback to inform their decisions. Its AI-assisted survey builder and workflows help turn research briefs into questionnaires, supporting studies on consumer preferences, brand perceptions, and new product concepts.

Launched in April 2025, theQA has grown to over 20,000 verified panel members. Revenue has grown every quarter this year, almost doubling since January.

Commenting on the investment, Ahmad Al-Ebrahim, Co-Founder and CEO of theQA, said:

“We started theQA with a simple goal: to make it easier for businesses to understand the people they serve. Consumer research has traditionally required significant time, effort, and resources, and we saw an opportunity to make that process simpler and more accessible.

Reaching over 20,000 participants in a short period has reinforced our belief in the need for this platform. This investment will help us build on that progress, strengthen our capabilities, and make consumer insights more accessible to businesses across Kuwait.”

Hussain Al-Nashabah, Co-Founder and CTO of theQA, added:

“Our focus has always been on simplifying the research process, from asking the right questions to reaching the right people and understanding the results. We’re continuing to develop tools that reduce the time and effort required to conduct research, including the practical use of AI where it adds value.

This investment will allow us to improve the platform, introduce new capabilities, and help businesses turn consumer feedback into actionable decisions.”

Ahmad Al Ebrahim and Hussain Ali AlNashaba are co-founders of theQA.

Press release:

Vitalls, the digital health passport platform, and EST Growmore Pte. Ltd., [investment arm of EST Group], today announced, during the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, an agreement under which EST Growmore will invest US 1.5 million in Vitalls’ seed round, with an option to invest a further US 1 million.

The agreement was signed by Mehdi Bouchenak, Founder of Vitalls, and Dr. Sindhu Bhaskar, Chairman of EST Group.

The investment reflects a shared conviction that people should own their health history and carry it with them wherever they live, work or travel. EST Growmore joins as anchor investor in the seed round.

Addressing the fragmentation of health records across borders

People move between cities, countries and healthcare systems, but their medical history rarely moves with them. Records remain scattered across clinics, laboratories and borders, in different languages and formats. The result is repeated tests, delayed care and incomplete information when it matters most. Vitalls gives individuals one secure, user-controlled place to own their complete health record and share it, with consent, with any provider they choose.

Strategic synergies across the EST Growmore ecosystem

Beyond capital, the partnership opens access to EST Growmore's investment ecosystem, including [group telecom and healthcare portfolio companies]. The two companies will explore synergies across distribution, partnerships and product development to speed Vitalls' growth in the region and internationally.

Mehdi Bouchenak, Founder and CEO of Vitalls, said, "This agreement is a major step for Vitalls. More than the capital, it confirms that the problem we set out to solve is real and urgent. When an investor of Dr. Sindhu Bhaskar's experience commits after looking closely at what we have built, it tells us the need is understood. Patient-owned health records are no longer a niche idea. They are where healthcare is going."

Dr. Sindhu Bhaskar, Chairman of EST Group, said, "We studied the problem Vitalls is solving, and we are convinced. Millions of people live, work and travel away from home while their health records stay scattered across clinics and countries. Vitalls puts that history back in the patient's hands. We also see strong synergies across our investment ecosystem, and we intend to put that network to work to help Vitalls grow faster."

Berkana is bringing together 40 female single family office principals, investment decision-makers and entrepreneurs from around the world for Art of Capital: The Women of Influence, taking place on October 22–23, 2026, across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 

The invitation-only gathering will convene the women who are actively shaping the future of private capital, with each participant allocating a minimum of $1 million annually into impactful ventures. 

The event will open at Noor Royal Museum in Dubai, hosted by Sheikha Noor, entrepreneur, investor and Founder & Chairwoman of Noor Royal Holding, before continuing in Abu Dhabi with curated experiences at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Louvre Abu Dhabi, where Berkana is proud to be an official corporate partner. 

The Abu Dhabi gathering is supported by Hongqi, the Chinese luxury automotive brand, providing premium transportation for event guests, alongside leading global family offices, Berkana members, and prominent investment and family office networks, including 361 Firm and Maison IG, and several corporate partners: Decahydron and Smart Management Properties. 

A New Generation of Female Capital 

Art of Capital: The Women of Influence is designed to create a private environment where women controlling and deploying significant capital can exchange ideas, discover investment opportunities and build long-term relationships across markets. 

The gathering will bring together single family office principals, senior investment decision-makers and entrepreneurs, with a focus on impact, innovation, strategic capital and the growing influence of women in global wealth creation. 

“Women are increasingly becoming some of the most influential allocators of private capital globally. Art of Capital is about bringing these women into one room — not simply to discuss wealth, but to shape where capital goes next.” 

— Genia Xasis, CEO & Founding Partner, Berkana 

The two-day program will combine private investment conversations, curated networking and cultural experiences across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, creating an environment for meaningful relationships and long-term collaboration.

For registration, click here.

Press release:

Databuddy Analytics, the AI-driven analytics platform, has raised $500,000 in Seed funding from Y Combinator as it launches its AI intelligence platform. With investment from Maza Ventures and through the a16z Scout programme, Databuddy has raised more than $560,000 to date.

The company's new AI analytics platform investigates conversion drops, customer friction and product issues on a team's behalf and brings the findings to them. Unlike the traditional web analytics approach, the platform proactively shows what changed and why, without the need to dig through reports and filters. Databuddy has grown to serve more than 3,000 businesses in the first few months since launch.

"Teams don't want more charts; they want to know what's broken and what to do about it," says Issa Nassar, Founder of Databuddy. "We built Databuddy so that the answer is one question away. Y Combinator's backing lets us move faster on that and put it in front of far more teams."

Issa Nassar grew up in Palestine, started coding at age 11 and dropped out of university. He was accepted into Y Combinator at 20, becoming the youngest founder in the Middle East to be accepted into Silicon Valley’s iconic accelerator.

Tambi Jalouqa, Managing Partner at Maza Ventures, shared, "Most founders start by explaining the market. Issa started by showing us what he had built. Databuddy is one of those products that looks deceptively simple, which is usually a sign that someone has spent a lot of time thinking about the problem. Issa has the combination we look for at Maza: he's deeply technical, moves unusually fast, and seems more interested in making something people want than in looking like a startup founder. Those are often the founders worth betting on early."

The funding will support deeper AI investigation capabilities, additional integrations and targeted hiring. Databuddy will also invest in onboarding and migration support, helping more teams connect their existing data and put the platform to work.

Press release:

CapQuest, a Dubai-based equity management platform, has announced the successful closing of its $1 million Pre-Seed funding round, led by Oraseya Capital and AMKM Family Office. 

Founded by Antoine Bruna, Marco Banfi, and Anvita Varshney, CapQuest is transforming how companies manage equity, ownership, and investor relations. The platform enables startups, scaleups, and established businesses to manage their cap tables, employee equity plans (ESOPs), vesting schedules, fundraising transactions, and shareholder communications through a single, centralised solution. 

Designed to replace fragmented spreadsheets and manual processes, CapQuest helps companies simplify complex equity operations, improve transparency, and maintain accurate ownership records throughout their growth. 

Growing International Traction 

Since its launch, CapQuest has established a growing international presence, serving companies across 11 countries, with a strong focus on the Middle East, Europe and emerging markets. 

Its client portfolio includes notable companies such as Holo, Erad, Avenia, and Teylor, reflecting increasing demand for modern equity management infrastructure among high-growth businesses. 

CapQuest's continued expansion highlights the growing importance of effective equity governance as companies navigate fundraising, employee ownership, and increasingly complex shareholder structures. 

Accelerating Growth and Product Innovation 

The funding will accelerate product development, expand CapQuest's commercial presence, and enhance its equity management capabilities through greater automation and more advanced tools. 

“This funding represents an important milestone for CapQuest and a strong validation of our vision,” said Antoine Bruna, CEO & Co-Founder of CapQuest. “Equity management remains unnecessarily complex for many companies, particularly as they scale and expand internationally. We’re building the infrastructure to make equity management more accessible, transparent, and efficient. 

With a growing international customer base and an expanding suite of products, CapQuest aims to become a leading platform for equity and investment management, connecting companies, shareholders, and investors within a unified ecosystem.

Press release:

Egyptian proptech startup Aqar Exit has secured an investment of EGP 10 million (approximately $200,000) from businessman Ayman Mamdouh Abbas, executive chairman of Intro Holding Group, in exchange for a 10% stake in the company.

The transaction values Aqar Exit at EGP 100 million (approximately $2 million) on a post-money basis, according to founder and chairman Mahmoud Ammar, who disclosed the investment in an interview with Al Arabiya Business.

Founded in July 2026, Aqar Exit operates a platform for transferring property purchase contracts, targeting buyers who are struggling to meet instalment obligations on their real estate units.

The platform connects these sellers with prospective buyers seeking properties at their original contract prices, without paying additional premiums, commonly known in Egypt's property market as overprice.

Under the company's model, sellers can seek to recover the amounts they have already paid towards their properties without incurring contract assignment fees.

The investment follows Aqar Exit's participation in the fifth season of Shark Tank Egypt, where it presented its business model to investors.

According to Ammar, the company will use the new capital to develop additional products and support its expansion into international markets, with a particular focus on the Gulf.

Aqar Exit has reported EGP 9 billion in closed listings since launching, covering 638 transactions, including 404 in its most recent reported month, compared with 233 in the preceding month.

However, the company's definition of a closed transaction includes any listing removed from the platform, meaning the figures do not necessarily represent completed property sales or revenue generated by Aqar Exit.

The platform has also registered 14,845 property assignment files submitted by 11,833 sellers, alongside 67,013 purchase requests from 32,870 prospective buyers.

Average daily purchase requests increased by 58% to 1,060, from 671 in the preceding period, according to company figures.

Looking ahead, Aqar Exit plans to pursue a funding round of approximately $5 million in 2027, targeting participation from Egyptian and international investors, businesspeople and investment funds.

The planned financing would support the company's product development and regional expansion as it seeks to establish a broader market for transferring property purchase contracts.

Press release:

Tactful AI, a startup specialising in agentic AI-driven customer experience (CX) infrastructure, announced that Hatem Dowidar, former Group CEO of e&, has joined its investor roster through a direct investment in the company's Pre-Series A extension round. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The move comes as Tactful AI prepares to roll out its next leap in Agentic AI technology—a shift expected to serve as a crucial inflection point for enterprise capability, operational agility, and proactive market responsiveness.

Dowidar brings a quarter-century track record in telecommunications and technology. He served as Group CEO of e& from 2020 through March 2026, having joined the company as Chief Operating Officer in 2015. Prior to e&, Dowidar spent 16 years in executive leadership roles at Vodafone, including CEO of Vodafone Egypt.

Commenting on the investment, Mohamed Elmasry, Co-founder and CEO of Tactful AI, said:

"Hatem Dowidar spent over 25 years leading major tech powerhouses serving millions of customers across the Middle East and Africa. Very few leaders share his depth of understanding and strategic clarity regarding what large enterprises require before trusting new, customer-facing technologies. His support and trust come at a pivotal moment as we take our boldest step yet toward defining a new era of agentic AI-driven customer experience."

Hatem Dowidar added:

"Enterprises across the region are actively seeking practical, reliable solutions to integrate AI into their customer operations safely and at scale. Tactful has successfully deployed this infrastructure in live production environments. Seeing the capabilities of their next-generation technology convinced me that this team has everything it takes to set the industry benchmark, both regionally and globally."

While most current AI applications remain limited to answering routine queries, Tactful AI’s next-generation technology bridges this gap by addressing a core enterprise challenge: building, modifying, and evolving end-to-end CX workflows directly within the enterprise. This approach compresses development cycles from months to hours while maintaining human-in-the-loop oversight and sign-offs at every step. The company plans to reveal further technical details in the coming months.

The upcoming technology builds on a unified infrastructure already proven in live production, driving rapid growth. The platform seamlessly integrates engagement, orchestration, governance, analytics, advanced automation, and agentic AI.

This technical momentum is reflected in the company's financial performance since January 2025: Tactful AI recorded an 11.7x increase in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and a 32x surge in monthly customer conversations processed through the platform. Its client portfolio includes Elaraby Group, Raneen, 2B, Lucky One, Erada Finance, and Simplex.

This extension follows Tactful AI’s initial Pre-Series A round announced in February 2026, co-led by Foras AI and M Empire. The company aims to build on this investor momentum as it prepares for a Series A funding round in 2027.

Press release:

Phoenix Venture Partners Limited (“PVP”), a venture capital fund manager domiciled in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) and regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”), today announced that it has led the second close of Nabta Health's (“NABTA”) ongoing $3 million Pre-Series A financing. PVP’s investment comprises a blend of primary and secondary capital, further institutionalising a longstanding relationship with NABTA as the company enters its next stage of growth. 

The Pre-Series A has attracted participation from institutional investors, venture capital firms, family offices and high-net-worth investors. 

Founded in 2017 by Sophie Smith, NABTA has evolved significantly from its origins as a direct-to-consumer women’s health platform. Following years of investment in technology, clinical infrastructure and R&D, the company is entering a new phase focused on building AI-powered preventive healthcare infrastructure for employers, insurers and healthcare providers. 

NABTA combines early disease detection, AI-supported care navigation through Aya, and hybrid digital and clinical care, positioning the business as a connecting layer across patients, payors and providers. The company’s model is increasingly focused on enabling earlier intervention, more coordinated care and improved health outcomes, while helping employers and insurers address long-term healthcare costs through prevention and better population health management. NABTA’s clinics and expertise in women’s health remain important enablers of this broader platform. 

The investment marks the next chapter in PVP's longstanding relationship with NABTA. Dr. Mussaad Al-Razouki, Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director of PVP, who has supported NABTA since its early days as a founding investor and former Executive Chairman, will transition from his position on NABTA's Board, with Steve Khayat joining the Board as PVP's representative. The transition comes as NABTA moves from an extended period of product development and R&D into a phase increasingly focused on commercialisation and scale. 

Steve Khayat, Founder and CEO of Phoenix Venture Partners, said: 

“NABTA has done the hard work of building its technology, clinical infrastructure and model, and is already demonstrating strong commercial traction. We believe the company is now at an inflection point where the focus can shift decisively toward go-to-market and sales acceleration. Our role at PVP will be to work alongside Sophie and the team to deepen strategic partnerships, accelerate customer acquisition and help translate that traction into scalable growth.” 

Sophie Smith, Founder and CEO of Nabta Health, added: 

“We are delighted to welcome PVP as a shareholder and Steve to our Board at an important stage in NABTA’s journey. PVP brings not only capital, but also the regional relationships and hands-on support that can help us accelerate our next phase of commercial growth and deepen our partnerships with employers, insurers and healthcare providers.” 

The funding will support NABTA as it accelerates its go-to-market strategy, expands its enterprise proposition and develops new commercial relationships across the employer, insurance and healthcare ecosystems. 

PVP will work alongside NABTA’s leadership team to support this next stage of growth, leveraging its regional network and value-creation capabilities to help accelerate commercial partnerships and position the company for its next phase of institutional growth.

Press release:

Vrtx, a Riyadh-based embedded finance platform, today announced it has raised $3.6 million in Pre-Seed funding.

Vrtx was founded by Mishal Bin Slimah and Omar Shaaban, who formerly worked together at Tweeq, one of Saudi Arabia’s early digital financial platforms that was acquired by Tabby. Their experience building financial products firsthand showed them how difficult it is to bring simple financial services to market, requiring technology, operations, compliance and security to be built in parallel.

They founded Vrtx to simplify that process. Vrtx aims to bring together the infrastructure and operational capabilities required to embed financial services, including wallets, payouts, card issuing, transfers, and transaction processing.

Vrtx has received In-Principle Approval (IPA) from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence, an important step toward enabling these services within the Kingdom’s regulatory framework.

Instead of spending significant time building financial systems, connecting payment flows, and managing operations from scratch, Vrtx is aiming to give companies a clear path to activate financial solutions faster and with less complexity.

With a secure test environment, guided workflows and an operational layer built for scale, Vrtx aspires to help companies move from idea to live operations in less time, while maintaining stronger control over balances, transactions and financial rules without unnecessary technical or operational overhead.

The round was backed by SCV by Standard Chartered, Sadu Capital, BYLD, Suhail Ventures, F6 Ventures, TAZ Investment and Palm Ventures.

Mishal Bin Slimah, Co-Founder and CEO of Vrtx, described the company’s vision as a hub of fintech capabilities that any company can pick from and build on, based on what its product actually needs.

“Building fintech products today is hard. Companies with a clear idea and real demand spend years assembling core infrastructure, operations and security before they serve a single customer. Our goal is to make fintech capability a standard building block for any business, with Vrtx as the destination for the fintech capability they need,” Mishal Bin Slimah said.

SC Ventures by Standard Chartered Country Lead – Saudi Arabia, Gabriel Heredia, commented: “This investment reflects our conviction in the growth of embedded finance in Saudi Arabia and the increasing role that financial infrastructure will play in enabling businesses across the Kingdom. Vrtx combines strong market understanding with the technology and capabilities needed to address this opportunity. We are pleased to support the team as they scale their platform and contribute to the continued development of the Kingdom’s fintech ecosystem.” 

Youcef Oudjidane, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, BYLD, commented: “Embedded finance has the potential to become an important layer of economic infrastructure, allowing financial services to be integrated into the businesses people use every day. But for that potential to be realised at scale, innovation and regulation need to develop hand in hand. What gave us conviction in Mishal was that he understood this from the outset and built Vrtx with regulatory compliance at its core.”