Middle East Asia-Pacific to account for 58% of global air passengers by 2040: ACI
Updated 27 November 2022
Arab News
RIYADH: Air passenger demand is likely to double globally over the next 20 years, with Asia-Pacific and the Middle East accounting for 58 percent of the volume, according to a report by Airports Council International.
Global passenger numbers are forecast to rise from 9.2 billion in 2019 to about 19 billion in 2040 predicted the ACI Asia-Pacific's Airport Industry Outlook, a quarterly assessment of the airports' performances.
Of this volume, Middle Eastern airports are expected to handle 1.1 billion passengers by 2040 – a significant increase of nearly 300 percent of the combined traffic of 505 million they handled in 2019.
ACI Director General of ACI Asia-Pacific Stefano Baronci said that the region must prepare itself for the oncoming influx: "The consistent improvement in passenger volumes in the region is a positive indication of a sustained recovery of the industry following prolonged efforts towards rebuilding passenger confidence in air travel."
He said restoring international connectivity will take longer and will be partly dependent on the decision of China to re-connect to the World. "The macroeconomic headwinds, less acute in Asia than other western regions, should not hamper a process of growth, subject to continue to maintain the freedom to travel without restrictions."
"All the stakeholders engaged in the aviation ecosystem must prepare to the surge in traffic,” insisted the ACI director general.
The Middle East is an ideally located axis for travel — aircraft flying from the geographical crossroads can reach almost all of Asia, Africa, and Europe within eight hours.
Tourism is one of the pillars of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, to contribute to diversifying the base of the national economy, attracting investments, increasing sources of income, and providing job opportunities for citizens, as the sector is witnessing rapid growth as a result of plans to promote the tourism sector.
Last month, a report by the World Tourism Organization listed Saudi Arabia as top of the Group of 20 countries for the flow rating of international tourists in the first seven months of 2022.
The report, released during the G20 tourism ministers’ meeting held in Bali, Indonesia, did not detail the exact number of travelers who visited the Kingdom, but claimed the sector saw a growth rate of 121 percent in the first half of 2022.
During the event, Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said the surge in tourist inflow aligns with the Kingdom’s economic diversification policies and aims to increase tourism’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product, as outlined in Vision 2030, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Calling Saudi Arabia one of the fastest-growing markets for tourism, Al-Khateeb said the Kingdom’s tourism sector is accelerating at a rate of 14 percent compared to the pre-coronavirus pandemic period.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 450,000 tourist visas were issued, since the Kingdom’s Tourism Authority launched the tourist visa program in 2019, by targeting 49 countries in the initial stage, and facilitated access to tourist visas electronically or through entry points to the Kingdom within specific regulatory controls.
Earlier in June, Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia has allocated $100 million to provide training for 100,000 people to work in the tourism and sustainability sector.
He added that 90 hotels were launched in the Kingdom as a part of its tourism strategy, and more hotels will be opened soon, with 70 percent being funded by the private sector.
Al-Khateeb, in June, told AFP that the Kingdom is hoping to attract 12 million foreign visitors in 2022, up from the 4 million tourists who visited Saudi Arabia in 2021.
“Saudi Arabia will change the tourism landscape globally. The destinations that Saudi will offer by 2030, it’s something completely different,” he said.
MENA startups land fresh capital, deals, and momentum
Mega-rounds and strategic deals signaling investors’ continued appetite
Updated 01 February 2026
Nour El-Shaeri
RIYADH: Capital kept moving across the Middle East and North Africa as January came to an end, with mega-rounds, record local fundraises, and strategic deals signaling investors’ continued appetite for scalable platforms, from property and wealth tech to insurance tech, mobility, and Arabic-first artificial intelligence.
Saudi Arabia-based wealthtech Vennre raised $9.6 million in a pre-series A round structured through a mix of equity and debt.
The round was co-led by Vision Ventures and anb seed Fund, with participation from Sanabil 500, Ace & Co, Plus VC, and a group of strategic individual investors.
Founded in 2021 by Ziad Mabsout, Anas Halabi, and Abdulrahman Al-Malik, Vennre focuses on providing high earners with Shariah-compliant access to private market investments.
The company said the new capital will be used to expand its client base, roll out new platform features, and deepen its presence in Saudi Arabia in line with Vision 2030 and the growth of the local fintech sector.
Vennre founders Ziad Mabsout, Anas Halabi, and Abdulrahman Al-Malik. (Supplied)
Property Finder secures $170m
UAE-based property tech Property Finder has raised $170 million in new funding led by Mubadala Investment Company, alongside another UAE sovereign wealth fund and BECO Capital.
Under the transaction, Mubadala and the second sovereign investor will each invest $75 million, while BECO Capital will commit $20 million from its recently launched $250 million Growth Fund I.
Founded in 2007 by Michael Lahyani and Renan Bourdeau, Property Finder operates a marketplace that enables users to search for properties to buy or rent using advanced filtering tools.
The investment follows a $525 million round in 2025 led by Permira, with significant participation from Blackstone Growth, bringing total equity raised to nearly $700 million.
The company has also secured $250 million in debt financing from Ares Management and HSBC, making it one of the largest funding stories in MENA tech.
Property Finder said the fresh capital will support its ambition to build the region’s leading real estate operating system, focused on transparency, trust, and data-driven decision-making.
Yakeey sees record Moroccan series A round
Beltone Venture Capital has made a strategic equity investment in Moroccan proptech Yakeey as part of the startup’s $15 million series A round, the largest completed in Morocco to date.
The round also includes IFC, Enza Capital, and 212 Founders. Founded to modernize Morocco’s fragmented real estate sector, Yakeey is building an end-to-end digital platform that integrates property search, valuation, brokerage, and financing.
The company said its early scalability and growing broker network position it for regional expansion as demand rises for transparent, digitised real estate services across North Africa.
Enakl develops technology to design and manage flexible shared transport networks for companies and public-sector actors. (SUpplied)
Enakl closes $2.3m seed round
Startup Enakl has closed a $2.3 million seed funding round, finalized in December, following an initial $1.4 million round completed at the end of 2024.
The round brought in new Moroccan investors Azur Innovation Fund, Witamax, and MFounders, alongside reinvestment from Catalyst Fund and Digital Africa.
Founded in 2022 by Samir Bennani and Charles Pommarede, Enakl develops technology to design and manage flexible shared transport networks for companies and public-sector actors.
The company said the funds will be used to strengthen commercial teams, launch the first version of its Software-as-a-Service product, and test new development models for ridepooling fleets, following its first pilot public contract with the Casablanca–Settat Region.
Glamera Holding signs MoU to acquire Bookr Group
Middle East–based lifestyle technology platform Glamera Holding has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire Bookr Group, a multi-market operator active across Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
Founded in 2022 by Mohamed Hassan Hijazi and Omar Fathy, Glamera operates a technology platform for the beauty and wellness sector and has processed transactions exceeding SR4 billion ($1.07 billion), supporting more than 4,500 service providers.
Bookr Group runs a service-provider management platform and consumer booking application. (SUpplied)
Bookr Group runs a service-provider management platform and consumer booking application with more than 300,000 users.
Glamera said the acquisition will strengthen its regional footprint and support its ambition to build a unified, AI-powered ecosystem for service providers and end users, with the combined platform expected to serve millions across the Middle East.
Mantas raises $1.77m seed
UAE-based insurance tech Mantas has emerged from stealth with a $1.77 million seed funding round to launch parametric insurance products covering cloud outages and digital downtime.
The round includes Nuwa Capital, Suhail Ventures, and Plus VC, as well as OQAL Angel Syndicate, and a group of angel investors.
Mantas founder Basil Mimi. (Supplied)
Founded in 2024 by Basil Mimi, Mantas combines cloud outage insurance with real-time risk monitoring, targeting digital-first businesses such as fintechs, airlines, e-commerce platforms, SaaS providers, and regulated enterprises.
The company said the funds will support product development, risk modelling, and early customer deployments across MENA and North America.
Juthor raises $500k pre-seed
Saudi Arabia-based e-commerce startup Juthor has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round led by Flat6Labs, with participation from angel investors.
Juthor founders Lolwah Binsaedan and Irfan Khan. (Supplied)
Founded in 2025 by Lolwah Binsaedan and Irfan Khan, Juthor is building a cloud-based platform to help retailers manage sales across multiple online marketplaces through real-time stock synchronization and AI-driven customer insights.
The company said the capital will be used to build scalable infrastructure and accelerate product development in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Yozo.ai secures $1.7 million pre-seed
UAE-based e-commerce AI startup Yozo.ai has raised $1.7 million in pre-seed funding, with the round co-led by Access Bridge Ventures and Disruptech Ventures, with participation from Arzan VC, Oraseya Capital, and Plus VC, as well as Suhail Ventures, Glint Ventures, and M-Empire Angels.
Founded in early 2025, Yozo builds an AI-native revenue engine designed to automate e-commerce growth and retention marketing.
The company said the funding will support product development and international expansion beyond MENA.
Abwaab operates a digital tutoring platform across Jordan, Egypt, and Pakistan. (Supplied)
Abwaab acquires Apex Education
Jordan-based education tech platform Abwaab has acquired Egypt-based college admissions advisory Apex Education for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2019, Apex Education provides personalized admissions guidance to students applying to leading global universities, while Abwaab operates a digital tutoring platform across Jordan, Egypt, and Pakistan.
Abwaab said the acquisition strengthens its end-to-end offering, extending from tutoring through to international university admissions.
Arabic.AI collaborates with Stanford University
Arabic.AI has announced a collaboration with Stanford University’s Center for Research on Foundation Models to establish the first holistic benchmark for evaluating Arabic large language models.
The initiative will extend Stanford’s HELM framework into Arabic, providing a transparent and reproducible reference for assessing model performance and risk.
Arabic.AI said the collaboration supports its mission to advance Arabic-first AI models while contributing a public research asset for the wider AI and enterprise ecosystem.
