Foloosi Secures UAE Central Bank Approval for Payments Licence
The UAE-based payments firm has crossed AED 7 billion in transaction volume and 10,000 merchants as it moves toward a full Category III licence under CBUAE's RPSCS framework.
MENA
Startup funding, acquisitions, government-backed initiatives, and cross-border business developments from across the Middle East and North Africa.
BFT Media, Andra PR Partner to Launch BRIS 2027 in Bahrain
The one-day event on 18 March 2027 will put retail investors in direct contact with banks, fintechs, wealth managers and regulators.
Mitti Labs raises $9.5 Mn Series A led by Aramco Ventures
Saudi Aramco's venture arm makes its first India bet on a satellite-and-AI platform that has grown from 8,000 to over 100,000 rice farms in two seasons, betting methane data becomes as investable as the oil giant's own emissions math.
PayTabs Group Acquires UAE’s TAPn’GO, Brings Contactless Checkout Into Its Super App
The Riyadh-based payments giant absorbs TAPn'GO's contactless technology in a full 100% acquisition, targeting 20,000+ businesses across retail, hospitality, healthcare, and more.
Saudi Edtech GAGA Raises $2.5M Pre-Series A to Scale Live Learning Platform
Phoenix Venture Partners-backed GAGA offers live, gamified learning across 1,000+ programmes — and now has $4.2M in total funding to accelerate its Saudi Arabia push.
Shorooq backs Yann LeCun’s AI startup AMI Labs in $1.03B seed round
The UAE-based investment firm joined a global investor group backing the Paris-headquartered artificial intelligence startup founded by former Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun.
UAE Healthtech TruDoc Raises $15M From Al Nahyan and Al-Ketbi Families
The funding round, backed by Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan family and the Al-Ketbi family, will help TruDoc expand its virtual-first healthcare and hospital-at-home services across the GCC.
Iran-Linked Drone Strikes Disrupt Amazon AWS Data Centers in UAE and Bahrain
Middle East cloud infrastructure damaged amid ongoing conflict; services disrupted as recovery efforts continue
Moroccan fintech WafR raises $4 million seed to scale last-mile financial services network
Oversubscribed round led by LoftyInc Capital with Attijariwafa Ventures and Almada Ventures will support expansion of WafR’s nationwide merchant-based fintech distribution.
Saudi-Backed Scopely Buys $1B Stake in Turkish Studio Loom Games
Scopely acquires a majority stake in Istanbul-based Loom Games, developer of the hit game Pixel Flow!, in a deal valuing the studio at over $1 billion.
Saudi AI Firm HUMAIN Acquires Significant Minority Stake in Elon Musk’s xAI in $3B Series E
Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN has taken a major minority position in Elon Musk’s xAI, contributing $3 billion to the company’s Series E round ahead of its SpaceX merger.
Dubai ports chief Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem resigns after being named in Epstein files
U.S. Justice Department disclosures linking the DP World leader to Jeffrey Epstein trigger leadership change at the Dubai government-owned global ports operator.