New Delhi, May 2 -- Dealmaking in the Middle East and North Africa region picked up pace this week, led by a series of big-ticket fundraises. These included a triple-digit pre-IPO funding round by digital platform provider iMENA Group, ahead of its planned market listing.
Other notable growth-stage fundraises came from digital asset infrastructure provider Fuze, Saudi Arabian fintech startup erad, and UAE-based fintech Zest Equity.
Some startups also raised early-stage capital, including Saudi healthtech Tuba, Iraq-based autotech IQ Cars, Oman-based B2B traveltech Darrbak, and Saudi subscription management platform Techrar.
Tuba Saudi Arabia-based healthtech Tuba raised $8 million in a pre-seed round led by Al-Waalan Investment, with participation from angel investors, to scale operations.
Founded earlier this year by serial entrepreneur Fayez Al-Anazi, Tuba is a healthcare management platform that offers artificial intelligence-powered solutions to improve efficiency and enhance the experience for both patients and healthcare providers. It enhances operational efficiency, reduces costs, and creates more transparent patient-centric solutions.
The startup aims to utilize the funding to build technical infrastructure, expand operations, and grow the team. Al-Anazi had last year founded Syarah, an online e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars.
iMENA Group iMENA Group, which operates online and mobile businesses for consumers and enterprises in the MENA market, raised $135 million in a pre-IPO funding round. It was backed by Saudi sovereign investor Public Investment Fund-owned Sanabil Investments. Other investors included FJ Labs, Saygin Yalcin, founder and CEO of SellAnyCar, and other Saudi investors.
Founded in 2012, iMENA has operations in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, and the broader Middle East region. The funding comes ahead of its plans to list on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange. It also plans to utilize the funding towards increasing its stake in three of its portfolio companies: Opensooq, SellAnyCar, and Jeeny.
Fuze Digital assets infrastructure provider Fuze secured $12.2 million in a Series A funding round led by Galaxy and e& capital to accelerate regional and global expansion. The UAE-based fintech firm also saw participation from existing backer Further Ventures in the funding round.
The round came a year-and-a-half after Fuze had raised the region's record high seed investment of $14 million.
Founded in 2022 by Mohammed Ali Yusuf, Arpit Mehta, and Srijan Shetty, the Abu Dhabi-based startup enables any bank, fintech or traditional enterprise to easily offer regulated digital assets products to their customers through their native apps.
Fuze offers digital assets as a service, OTC trading, and stablecoin infrastructure. It has processed over $2 billion in digital assets volume to date.
The funding will be used to support its expansion plans, product development, and hiring.
iQ Cars iQ Cars, an Iraq-based autotech firm, raised a seven-figure seed round led by Euphrates Ventures.
Founded in 2020 by Amer Salih, iQ Cars is an online car marketplace platform that hosts over 34,000 listings and 1,000-plus car dealers. The startup aims to utilize the funding to scale across Iraq.
erad Saudi Arabian fintech startup erad secured $16 million in a pre-Series A funding round, backed by new and existing investors, to facilitate its expansion. The VC firms that participated in the round include Y Combinator, Nuwa Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Aljazira Capital, VentureSouq, Oraseya Capital, and Joa Capital.
Founded in 2022 by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Almeheini, and Youssef Said, erad offers Shariah-compliant, data-driven financing to SMEs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It provides funding access in as little as 48 hours.
The startup plans to utilize the additional capital to support its expansion plans within Saudi Arabia and beyond, besides strengthening local hiring, and enhancing its product offering. Erad services customers across retail, F&B, e-commerce, healthcare, and beyond, including businesses such as Citron, Wixsana, and House of Pops.
The latest round comes almost three years after erad raised a $2.4-million pre-seed round, backed by Nuwa Capital, VentureSouq, and Khwarizmi Ventures. Darrbak Oman-based B2B traveltech Darrbak, which offers tech-enabled travel management solutions, raised a pre-seed funding round of an undisclosed value, led by Oman Investment Authority (OIA)'s Future.
Founded in 2025 by Jassim Al Alawi, Darrbak offers tech-led travel solutions for corporates and government entities, including hotel and flight bookings, trip customization, and secure online payments.
It aims to utilize the additional funding to enhance its digital infrastructure and scale its presence in institutional travel.
Techrar
Techrar, a Saudi subscription management platform, raised $1.6 million in funding, led by Aramco's venture capital arm Wa'ed Ventures.
Founded in 2022 by Safwan Saigh, Fawzan Alkhlawi, and Rania Shaker, the company specializes in managing subscriptions, memberships, and recurring bills.
It plans to use the capital to facilitate team growth, product development, and acquisition of new customers. Zest Equity
UAE-based fintech Zest Equity, which enables founders and venture capitalists to sell their secondary shares online, raised $4.3 million in pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by Prosus Ventures with participation from Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures (MSISV).
Founded in 2021 by Rawan Baddour and Zuhair Shamma, Zest Equity had raised $3.8 million seed funding in October 2023, led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), with participation from the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) and DASH Ventures.
The startup plans to deploy the additional capital towards growing its presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It also aims to hire specialized talent, develop new products, and scale the technology infrastructure to support growing volumes and types of transactions.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.