New Delhi, Feb. 7 -- The UAE-based AI startup Qeen AI led funding activity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this week, securing one of the largest seed investments in the region so far.

Besides, Egyptian fintech startup Khazna raised pre-Series B capital to facilitate its expansion. Other key startups that raised funding include Egyptian CNC machine manufacturing startup Simplex and the UAE-based wealth management platform Myne.

Meanwhile, Foundation Ventures, an Egypt-based venture capital firm, marked the first close of its $25 million fund, backed by the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund (EAEF), the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), and Onsi Sawiris. It aims to deploy capital to scale early-stage and growth-stage startups.

Qeen AI

AI startup Qeen, which had secured pre-seed funding of $2.2 million eight months ago, has now raised a $10 million seed funding round in one of the largest seed investments in the MENA region to date. The round was led by Prosus Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Wamda Capital, 10x Founders, and Dara Holdings.

Founded in 2023 by former Google and DeepMind colleagues Dina Alsamhan, Ahmad Khwileh, and Morteza Ibrahimi, Qeen AI offers AI solutions tailored to e-commerce businesses. The platform offers no-code, native GenAI product discovery solutions to boost online sales and customer lifetime value for e-commerce businesses.

Qeen AI aims to use the investment to widen its reach within the e-commerce industry.

Lendo

Lendo, a Saudi Arabia-based shariah-compliant debt crowdfunding marketplace, has secured a $690 million warehouse facility led by J.P. Morgan. It aims to use the facility to increase its lending capacity, introduce more products, and expand its SME coverage.

Lendo had raised a $28 million Series B round in December 2023, which saw participation from Shorooq Partners, AB Ventures, and other investors. The round was led by Public Investment Fund-owned Sanabil Investments.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Osama AlRaee and COO Mohammad Jawabri, Lendo enables SMEs to digitally pre-finance their outstanding invoices. The platform also offers SMEs a limited option to borrow cash quickly and short-term options to gain higher returns for investors or lenders.

According to the company, Lendo has facilitated over $667 million in financing through more than 5,000 transactions, generating $33.3 million in returns for investors. Lendo had in 2021 raised $7.2 million Series A funding from Derayah Ventures and Seedra Ventures, among others.

Simplex

Egyptian CNC machine manufacturing startup Simplex raised $13 million in a funding round led by Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Development Centre to expand operations.

Founded in 2013 by Ahmed Shaaban, Mohamed Mansour and Amr Mahmoud, Simplex offers industrial solutions to a range of regional manufacturers across several industries. Simplex aims to use the funds to set up an advanced CNC machines production factory in Riyadh.

Myne

Myne, a UAE-based wealth management startup, has secured a $2 million pre-seed funding led by Scene Holding. Other investors in the round include Raz Holding, Plus VC, Annex Investments, and a group of angel investors.

Founded in 2024 by Karim Chouman, Myne offers a wealth management platform that provides asset tracking, real-time market integration, live budgeting tools, and digitized estate planning services.

It plans to utilize the funding to scale its business, deepen its technology infrastructure, accelerate user acquisition, support its innovation pipeline, and create a roadmap for regional expansion.

Khazna

Khazna, an Egyptian fintech startup, has secured $16 million in a pre-Series B round from investors including SANAD Fund for MSME to fuel its expansion. Other new and existing investors that participated in the round included ANB Capital, Aljazira Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Nclude, ICU Ventures, Quona, Speedinvest, and Disruptech Ventures.

Launched in 2020 by Omar Saleh, Ahmed Wagueeh, and Fatimah El Shenawy, Khazna is a financial super app that offers easy-to-use, technology-driven financial services to underserved segments.

With the new capital infusion, Khazna plans to apply for a digital banking license in Egypt and advance its expansion into the Saudi Arabian market. In March 2022, Khazna had closed a Series A round of $38 million in equity and debt.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.