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Startup Wrap – Egyptian firms secure funding to boost Saudi expansions after battling stagnation 

Egyptian startups have secured sizeable investments. Shutterstock
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Updated 27 April 2024
Nour El-Shaeri 
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Startup Wrap – Egyptian firms secure funding to boost Saudi expansions after battling stagnation 

Updated 27 April 2024
Nour El-Shaeri 

CAIRO: Startups in Egypt have started to gain momentum with several ventures securing funding to boost expansion efforts to the Kingdom. 

Following a period of startup funding stagnation, Egyptian founders have made their way back to the regional venture capital space with a flurry of investment deals and expansion strategies already in place. 

Egyptian fintech startup Waffarha has secured a seven-figure seed round from Value Makers Studio to expand its footprint.  

Founded in 2012 by Tarek Magdy, the platform offers significant discounts, with daily deals ranging from 50 percent to 90 percent.  

The new capital will enable Waffarha to enhance its technology, recruit talent, and expand into Saudi Arabia and additional markets.   

Moreover, in 2018, Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic Payments, one of Egypt’s largest financial institutions, acquired a share of 30 percent of the company. 

The company claims to boast a network of over 1,000 merchants and over 3,000 stores that cater to more than 5 million customers, without any subscription fees.  

Over the last 12 years, Waffarha claims to have emerged as a top-tier lifestyle website and mobile app.  

Egyptian HR tech startup Bluworks secures $1m in pre-seed funding 

Bluworks, an HR and Software-as-a-Service solutions provider based in Egypt, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding led by Khawarizmi Ventures and included Camel Ventures, Acasia Ventures, and angel investors.  

Founded in 2022 by Farah Osman, Hussein Wahdan, and Nour Ahmadein, Bluworks aims to optimize costs for businesses through data-driven decision-making.  

“With so many HR softwares on the market, not one is built to manage blue-collar workers,” Wahdan said.  

“Since the process of managing this type of workforce is so manual, errors frequently occur, leading to penalties and deducted salaries with no oversight from the workers, causing them to leave and ultimately contributing to high turnover rates,” he added. 

“Currently, companies can spend about 7-10 days just closing their payroll accounts, but with Bluworks, this time can be cut down to one day - all while leveraging data and insights on their workforce,” he stated. 

The company aims to utilize the funding to support its product development goals, expand its presence, and grow its team.   

Egypt-based fintech Bokra closes $4.6m pre-seed funding round  




Bokra was founded in 2023 by Ayman El-Sawy. Supplied

Bokra, an emerging fintech startup from Egypt, has secured $4.6 million in pre-seed funding, led by DisrupTech Ventures and SS Capital.  

Founded in 2023 by Ayman El-Sawy, Bokra offers diversified investment solutions for retail and SME investors.  

The funds will support the launch of the Bokra app, expansion of its investment products, and scaling operations across the Middle East and North Africa region.   

“We are dedicated to accelerating financial inclusion and elevating investment awareness across MENA,” El-Sawy said. 

“In a region where financial needs and aspirations are ever-changing, Bokra is poised to become the preferred investment platform for both individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises looking to diversify their fractional ownership portfolio in a simple, trackable and informed way,” he added. 

Egyptian startups win big in Saudi-Egyptian program 

Ten Egyptian startups have received awards from the VMS Bridge program, aimed at enhancing connections between Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial ecosystems.  

Winners included Amanleek, Farhy, Sprints, Career180, and Jamaykaa, which will explore investment opportunities during a 4-day visit to the Kingdom.

Other winners, Notchnco and Neqabty, received free company licenses in Saudi Arabia, and AgriCash, ReNile, and ICareer won access to Arweqah’s training programs.   

Jordan-based healthtech startup Arab Therapy secures $1m seed funding 

Arab Therapy, a Jordan-based mental health platform, has raised $1 million in seed funding, led by Flat6Labs and Vision Health Pioneers, with participation from international angel investors. 

Founded in 2021 by Tareq Dalbah, Omar Koudsi, and Hekmat Al-Hasi, Arab Therapy connects users with licensed mental health professionals.  

The investment will facilitate the company’s market expansion and the initiation of business to business sales operations. 

TVM Capital Healthcare invests $17m in Neurocare Group AG 

TVM Capital Healthcare, based in the UAE, has invested $17 million into Neurocare Group AG, a Munich-headquartered healthtech specializing in personalized mental healthcare.  

The investment will support Neurocare’s expansion plans in the US and Saudi Arabia and fund the development of new hardware and software innovations, enhancing their clinical solutions. 

UAE-based logistics startup Shorages secures $1m for expansion 

Shorages, a UAE-based logistics startup, has raised $1 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Joa Capital’s S3 Ventures Fund.  

Founded in 2019 by Rayan Osseiran, the company provides fulfillment solutions in the UAE and Saudi Arabia for e-commerce platforms.  

The company aims to utilize the funding to help expand its warehouse operations across the Gulf region. 

UAE e-commerce startup WEE secures $12m in funding 

UAE-based e-commerce startup WEE has concluded a $12 million pre-series A funding round, facilitated by SIG Investment.  

Founded in 2021 by Anastasia Kim, Oleg Dashkevich, and Sergey Kolikov, WEE is an online marketplace that offers below 15-minutes delivery services.  

The investment will be used to spearhead WEE’s logistics capabilities, accelerate growth, and expand its team. 

Turkish fintech app Midas closes $45m funding round to boost MENA expansion 

Turkish fintech app Midas closed a $45 million funding round by Portage, a global investment platform, supported by International Finance Corporation, Spark Capital and Earlybird Digital East Fund. 

Founded by Egem Eraslan, the company allows users in Turkiye to invest in Turkish and US equities. 

The startup is aimed at Turkiye’s retail investor market and claims to have more than 2 million users. The company claims to charge significantly lower transaction and commission fees for Turkish customers who want to invest in US or Turkish stocks. 

Midas has plans to expand beyond Turkiye, and aims to target countries in the MENA region, according to a report by TechCrunch. 

Midas also plans to use the new funding to roll out three new products in cryptocurrency trading, mutual funds and savings accounts.  

UAE’s Maalexi signs agreement with Etihad Credit Insurance 

Maalexi, a UAE-based risk management platform focused on SME agri-businesses, has entered into a strategic credit insurance agreement with Etihad Credit Insurance, the UAE’s federal export credit company.  

This collaboration will enable Maalexi to utilize ECI’s extensive trade credit solutions and services, enhancing the competitiveness of regional SMEs in the food and agriculture trade sectors, both locally and internationally.  

The partnership aims to reduce market entry barriers, support Maalexi’s goal of increasing SME participation in the cross-border trade of agricultural produce, and contribute to food security in the UAE.  

Topics: Startup Wrap Waffarha Egypt startups saudi startups

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Man Utd rut ‘not good enough’ but Ten Hag vows to fight on

Updated 10 min 39 sec ago
AFP
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Man Utd rut ‘not good enough’ but Ten Hag vows to fight on

Updated 10 min 39 sec ago
AFP

LONDON: Erik ten Hag took responsibility for Manchester United’s miserable showing in a 4-0 thrashing by Crystal Palace on Monday, but said he is still the right man to turn the club’s fortunes around.
Palace completed a first ever league double over United in style as Michael Olize scored twice, while Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell were also on target for the in-form Eagles.
Defeat left Ten Hag’s men eighth and at risk of both their worst ever Premier League finish and missing out on European competition next season.
The Dutchman’s future is in doubt with structural change ongoing at Old Trafford since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake and took sporting control of the club earlier this year.
“It’s clear and it’s obvious this is under-performing,” said Ten Hag. “We didn’t act how we want to do it and this is by far not good enough.”
Ten Hag’s options were again limited by a mounting injury list.
Captain Bruno Fernandes missed a club game through injury for the first time in his career, while England international duo Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire were also absent.
The makeshift center-back pairing of Casemiro and Jonny Evans were torn apart by Palace’s pace and invention.
“Absolutely,” added Ten Hag on whether believes he is the right man to lead United forward.
“If we have the right players available we have a good squad but we miss almost the whole back-line and then we have problems.
“I will keep fighting and I prepared the team in the best way I could do. It was not good enough, by far not good enough, so I have to take the responsibility for that but I will find the energy and I will prepare them for Sunday.”
Worse could be to come for Ten Hag when title-chasing Arsenal visit Old Trafford at the weekend.
United have never failed to finish in the top seven in the Premier League era and must do so or beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final to qualify for Europe.
But the embarassing scoreline at Selhurst Park is not unprecedented during Ten Hag’s reign.
United lost 4-0 at Brentford, 7-0 to Liverpool and 6-3 away to Manchester City during his first season in charge.
This season they have conceded 81 goals in all competitions, the club’s worst tally since 1976-77.
After a disappointing early exits from both the Champions League and League Cup, a FA Cup run has offered Ten Hag some relief.
But they booked their place in a second consecutive final only by surviving a penalty shootout against second-tier Coventry after blowing a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3.
“That was tough to watch,” said former United midfielder Paul Scholes of the Red Devils’ display at Palace. “That could have been 7-0.”
Ratcliffe’s INEOS group have already begun making appointments they hope will turn around a decade of decline at the 20-time English champions.
Jason Wilcox has been named the club’s new technical director, while Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth has been targeted as sporting director and former Manchester City executive Omar Berrada will take over as CEO.

UK military personnel’s data accessed in hack, BBC reports

Updated 14 min 5 sec ago
Reuters
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UK military personnel’s data accessed in hack, BBC reports

  • MPs could be informed about the development in the Commons on Tuesday
Updated 14 min 5 sec ago
Reuters

Some personal information in a payroll system used by Britain’s defense department has been accessed in a data breach, the BBC reported on Monday.
The system was managed by an external contractor and no operational Ministry of Defense data was obtained, the broadcaster said, adding that the department took the system off-line immediately.
Information like names and bank details of current and some former members of the Royal Navy, Army and Air Force was compromised, according to the report.
The Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment outside working hours.
MPs could be informed about the development in the Commons on Tuesday, the report added.

Topics: UK

Columbia University cancels main commencement after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests

Updated 32 min 16 sec ago
AP
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Columbia University cancels main commencement after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests

  • Israel has killed more than 34,600 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory
  • Similar encampments sprouted up elsewhere as universities struggled with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining safe and inclusive campuses
Updated 32 min 16 sec ago
AP

NEW YORK: Columbia University canceled its large university-wide commencement ceremony Monday following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled its campus and others across the US, but said students will still be able to celebrate at a series of smaller, school-based ceremonies this week and next.
The decision comes as universities around the country wrangle with how to handle commencements for students whose high school graduations were derailed by COVID-19 in 2020. Another campus shaken by protests, Emory University, announced Monday that it would move its commencement from its Atlanta campus to a suburban arena. Others, including the University of Michigan, Indiana University and Northeastern, have pulled off ceremonies with few disruptions.
Columbia’s decision to cancel its main ceremonies scheduled for May 15 saves its president, Minouche Shafik, from having to deliver a commencement address in the same part of campus where police dismantled a protest encampment last week. The Ivy League school in upper Manhattan said it made the decision after discussions with students.
“Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families,” officials said.
Most of the ceremonies that had been scheduled for the south lawn of the main campus, where encampments were taken down last week, will take place about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north at Columbia’s sports complex, officials said.
Speakers at some of Columbia’s still-scheduled graduation ceremonies include Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames and Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Institutes of Health.
Columbia had already canceled in-person classes. More than 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia’s green or occupied an academic building were arrested in recent weeks.
Similar encampments sprouted up elsewhere as universities struggled with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining safe and inclusive campuses.
The University of Southern California earlier canceled its main graduation ceremony. Students abandoned their camp at USC on Sunday after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest.
Other universities have held graduation ceremonies with beefed-up security. The University of Michigan’s ceremony was interrupted by chanting a few times Saturday. In Boston on Sunday, some students waved small Palestinian or Israeli flags at Northeastern University’s commencement in Fenway Park.
Emory’s ceremonies scheduled for May 13 will be held at the GasSouth Arena and Convocation Center in Duluth, almost 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of the university’s Atlanta campus, President Gregory Fenves said in an open letter.
“Please know that this decision was not taken lightly,” Fenves wrote. “It was made in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisers and other agencies — each of which advised against holding commencement events on our campuses.”
The 16,000-student university is one of many that has seen repeated protests stemming from the conflict that started Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. Student protesters are calling on their schools to divest from companies that do business with Israel or otherwise contribute to the war effort.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes have devastated the enclave and displaced most of its inhabitants.
Hamas on Monday announced its acceptance of an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its “core demands” and that it was pushing ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
“Ceasefires are temporary,” said Selina Al-Shihabi, a Georgetown University sophomore who was taking part in a protest at George Washington. “There can be a ceasefire, but the US government will continue to arm the Israeli military. We plan to be here until the university divests or until they drag us out of here.”
Also Monday, the University of California, Los Angeles, alerted students that all classes were moving online due to ongoing disruptions following the dismantling of a pro-Palestinian encampment last week. The university police force reported 44 arrests but there were no specific details, UCLA spokesperson Eddie North-Hager said in an email to The Associated Press.
At the University of California, San Diego, police cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment and arrested more than 64 people, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Schools are trying various tactics from appeasement to threats of disciplinary action to get protesters to take down encampments or move to campus areas where demonstrations would be less intrusive.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago said in a Facebook post Sunday that it offered protesters “amnesty from academic sanction and trespassing charges” if they moved.
“Many protesters left the premises of their own accord after being notified by the police that they were trespassing and subject to arrest,” the school said. “Those that remained were arrested after multiple warnings to leave, including some of whom we recognized as SAIC students.”
A group of faculty and staff members at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill asked the administration for amnesty for any students who were arrested and suspended during recent protests. UNC Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine said in a media advisory that it would deliver a letter on behalf of more than 500 faculty who support the student activists.
Other universities took a different approach.
Harvard University’s interim president, Alan Garber, warned student’s that those participating in a pro-Palestinian encampment in Harvard Yard could face “involuntary leave.” That means they may would not be allowed on campus, could lose their student housing and may not be able to take exams, Garber said.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, police restricted access to an encampment after a school deadline for them to leave had passed. About 200 protesters gathered outside the camp, chanting, “MIT can’t you see? Palestine will be free” and other slogans.
 

 

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine Gaza US Protests in US over Gaza war

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Erdogan opens former church to Muslim worshippers

Updated 42 min 56 sec ago
AFP
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Erdogan opens former church to Muslim worshippers

  • Erdogan on Monday declared Kariye Mosque reopened for worship, remotely during a ceremony at the presidential palace in the capital, Ankara
Updated 42 min 56 sec ago
AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Monday reopened a mosque converted from an ancient Orthodox church in Istanbul for Muslim worship, four years after the president ordered its transformation.
The Kariye Mosque was formerly a Byzantine church, then a mosque and then a museum.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in 2020, ordered the building to be reconverted into a Muslim place of worship.
His order came followed a similarly controversial ruling on the UNESCO-protected Hagia Sophia — a cathedral in Istanbul that was converted into a mosque and then a museum, before becoming a mosque again.
The changes were seen as part of Erdogan’s efforts to galvanize his more conservative and nationalist supporters.
But they have also added to tensions with prelates in both the Orthodox and Catholic churches.
Erdogan on Monday declared Kariye Mosque reopened for worship, remotely during a ceremony at the presidential palace in the capital, Ankara.
An AFP picture from the mosque showed one worshipper wave a Turkish flag before the congregation who performed their prayers on a brick-red color carpet on Monday afternoon.
Images also revealed that two mosaics carved into the walls of the ancient church on the right and left sides of the prayer room were covered with curtains.
Most of the mosaics and frescos however remained visible to visitors.
“I had the opportunity to visit the place before and I was initially a little afraid of the work that could have been carried out,” said Michel, a French tourist, who would not give his full name.
“But ultimately we must recognize that it’s well done, that the frescos are accessible to everybody,” the 31-year-old researcher said.
Greece’s foreign affairs ministry on Monday night blasted a “provocation,” claiming that the move “alters the character” of the former church and “harms this UNESCO world heritage site that belongs to humanity.”
Neighbouring Greece had already reacted angrily to the decision in 2020 to convert the building.
The Holy Savior in Chora was a Byzantine church decorated with 14th-century frescoes of the Last Judgment that are still treasured by Christians.
The church was converted into Kariye Mosque half a century after the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks.
It became the Kariye Museum after World War II, when Turkiye sought to create a more secular republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.
A group of art historians from the United States helped restore the original church’s mosaics and they were put on public display in 1958.
Hagia Sophia — once the seat of Eastern Christianity — was also converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.
Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkiye after World War I, turned the UNESCO World Heritage site into a museum in a bid to promote religious neutrality.
Nearly 100 years later, Erdogan, whose ruling AKP party has Islamist roots, turned it back into a Muslim place of worship.
“It’s timeless, it’s something that for me is superior to Hagia Sophia,” Michel said of Kariye Mosque.
“It’s better preserved, less touristic and more intimate.”

Topics: Kariye Mosque Byzantine church Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan worshippers

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Jordan’s King Abdullah presses Biden to avert Israel offensive in Rafah

Updated 55 min 12 sec ago
Reuters
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Jordan’s King Abdullah presses Biden to avert Israel offensive in Rafah

  • Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
  • The Biden administration and Israeli officials remain at odds over Israel’s planned military incursion in the southern Gaza city of Rafah where it told Palestinians to start evacuating some parts on Monday
Updated 55 min 12 sec ago
Reuters

WASHINGTON: Jordan’s King Abdullah told US President Joe Biden in a private meeting on Monday that an Israeli offensive in Rafah would lead to a “new massacre” of Palestinian civilians and urged the international community to take urgent action.
“The king warned of the repercussions of the Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, which could cause a regional spillover of the conflict,” a statement from the Jordan royal court said after Abdullah had lunch with Biden at the White House.
Israel carried out airstrikes in Rafah on Monday and told Palestinians to evacuate parts of the city where more than a million people uprooted by the seven-month war are crowded together.
On Sunday, Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for the freeing of hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled that out. Hamas also attacked the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, which Israel said killed three of its soldiers.
In a phone call on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu, Biden pressed Netanyahu not to go ahead with a large-scale Israeli military offensive in Rafah. The US president has been vocal in his demand that Israel not undertake a ground offensive in Rafah without a plan to protect Palestinian civilians.
The Jordanian statement said Abdullah in his meeting with Biden “warned that the Israeli attack on Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are internally displaced as a result of the war on Gaza, threatens to lead to a new massacre.”
“His Majesty stressed the importance of all efforts that seek an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” it said. “The king and the US president affirmed their commitment to working to reach a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, stressing the importance of facilitating the delivery of sustainable humanitarian aid to the Strip in light of the dire needs.”
The Biden administration and Israeli officials remain at odds over Israel’s planned military incursion in the southern Gaza city of Rafah where it told Palestinians to start evacuating some parts on Monday.
Biden last met King Abdullah at the White House in February and the two longtime allies discussed a daunting list of challenges, including the looming Israeli ground offensive in southern Gaza and suffering of Palestinian civilians. Jordan and other Arab states have been highly critical of Israel’s actions and have been demanding a ceasefire since mid-October as civilian casualties began to skyrocket.
The war began after Hamas stunned Israel with a cross-border raid on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 252 hostages taken, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,000 wounded in Israel’s assault, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

 

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine Gaza US Jordan King Abdullah II

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