Dtec Ventures brings you a roundup of the startup news from the GCC Ecosystem for the month of October 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
- Together with Wamda Capital, Dtec Ventures invests in the Series-A round of Ziwo, a Dubai-based startup that operates a cloud-based contact center as a service platform.
- Dtec and Entrepreneur ME hosted its 2019 3rd Quarter Dtec Forum titled “The Business of Space”. The forum looked into the entrepreneurial opportunities presented by the country’s space technology sector.
- BECO Capital announces the close of their 2nd fund of $100 million.The fund will invest in early stage tech startups with Founders and teams based in the MENA region.
- Mubadala Capital announced the launch of its first MENA-focused tech investment fund totaling US$250 million (AED918 million). US$150 million (AED550 million) will go to a “fund of funds” program for funds supporting Hub71.
- Dtec signs MOU with Mashreq Bank for a two-year partnership. Dtec members will benefit from the bank’s SME focused solution including its digital banking platform, NeoBiz.
- Dubai Economic Department (DED) announced the launch of a virtual commercial license, that allow investors from across the globe to establish commercial operations in the Emirate
INVESTMENTS | GCC-BASED STARTUPS
- Bayzat (HR software solution, UAE) – $16 million, Series B, led by Point72 Ventures
- Almentor.net (elearning platform, UAE) – $4.5 million Series A, led by Sawari Ventures
- Meddy (doctor booking platform, Qatar) – $2.5 million Series A, led by Modus Capital
- Repeat (smart loyalty platform, UAE) – $2.5 million Series A, undisclosed investors
- UnitX (cloud computing, KSA) – $2 million Pre-Seed, from KAUST Innovation Fund & Wa’ed Ventures Fund
- Arabot (intelligent chatbot, Jordan) – $1 million, Seed round, led by Riyad TAQNIA Fund
- Bulkwhiz (bulk value ecommerce, UAE) – undisclosed amount, Series A, from BECO Capital, MSA Capital, et al
- Cofe App (coffee marketplace app, Kuwait) – undisclosed amount, Series A, undisclosed investors
- Insurncemarket.ae (insurance comparison platform, UAE) – undisclosed amount & round, from Creative Zone
- Melltoo (pre-loved marketplace, UAE) – undisclosed amount, Pre-Series A, led by Gobi Partners
- ZIWO by Aswat (contact center as service, UAE) – undisclosed amount, Series A, from Wamda and Dtec Ventures
INVESTMENTS | MAGNITT FINTECH VENTURE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
VC NEWS
- Abu-Dhabi state fund, Mubadala Investment Company is now undecided whether to invest or not in SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund 2 due to recent struggles of Uber Technologies and WeWork (part of Softbank’s Vision Fund 1)
- Investments in Saudi Arabia to reach $500 million by 2025 according to Riyadh-based VC, Saudi Telecom Ventures’ report
- Oasis Venture II Fund, by Oasis 500 announced its investment in 8 early-stage startups for up to $100K per venture
- UAE-based W Ventures announced that it will be investing $50 million to develop an online and offline gaming platform
STARTUP NEWS
- Golden Scent becomes the to be granted with commercial license by the Saudi Arabian Government Investment Authority (SAGIA) without the minimum capital required
- Virtual Company License program has been launched as a joint effort of Dubai Economy, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), General Directorate of Residency & Foreigners’ Affairs (GDRFA), Smart Dubai, and the Supreme Legislation Committee to allow investors worldwide to do business in Dubai digitally. It focuses on 3 industries: creative, tech and servides
- DSOA-based startup Selfdrive.ae launches “Microlease”, the region’s 1st Car Subscription Service
- Dubai-based online Arabic courses marketplace Nadrus.com gets acquired by Omani Society for Education Technology (OSET) for an undisclosed amount
ACCELERATOR / INCUBATOR
- Department of Health Abu Dhabi partners with Plug N Play for its Health startup accelerator to be begin its program in Q1 2020
- Dubai Startup Hub unveiled its revamped Market Access program to foster cooperation between startups and corporates
- 500 Startups and MISK Innovation selects 20 startups for their second cohort in KSA
- Dubai-based global port operator, DP World, launched Log-X— a technology accelerator platform for logistics.
- C3 Social Impact Accelerator launches their 2nd cohort in partnership with HSBC
- ADGM Academy and Plug and Play sign an MoU to collaborate in establishing a Technology and Innovation Education Hub in Abu Dhabi.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- EMTech MENA (UAE – 04-05 Nov
- International Women Entrepreneur Show – 04-05 Nov
- Wamda’s A Decade of Entrepreneurship – 06 Nov
- Dtec Emirati Bootcamp – 12-16 Nov
- 2019 MENA Angel Investors Summit – 18 Nov
- Middle East Youth Expo – 19-21 Nov
- Arabian Business Startup Awards – 24 Nov
- FinTech Accelerator Program (Fintech Hive) Investor Day – 29 Nov
APPLICATION DEADLINES
- Deadline to apply: Dubai Smart City Accelerator – 10 Nov
- Deadline to apply: The Greenhouse by Chalhoub – 10 Nov
- Deadline to apply: AI Venture Labs – 15 Nov
- Deadline to apply: Startupbootcamp Fintech – 19 Nov
ARTICLES WORTH READING