ACWA Power partners with Austrian firm Verbund to develop green hydrogen
ACWA Power partners with Austrian firm Verbund to develop green hydrogen/node/2234656/business-economy
ACWA Power partners with Austrian firm Verbund to develop green hydrogen
Verbund will use the hydrogen produced by the region’s projects as a renewable energy source for Central Europe, primarily Austria, as per the MOU. (Supplied)
ACWA Power partners with Austrian firm Verbund to develop green hydrogen
Updated 18 January 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has signed a memorandum of understanding with Austrian electricity firm Verbund to potentially develop green hydrogen projects in the Middle East.
Verbund will use the hydrogen produced by the region’s projects as a renewable energy source for Central Europe, primarily Austria, as per the MOU.
“Today’s announcement is another illustration of our enduring commitment to bring ingenuity and entrepreneurship together to ensure power is generated reliably, responsibly, and sustainably at the global level,” ACWA Power Chairman Mohammad Abunayyan said in a press statement.
The arrangement between Verbund and the Saudi developer, investor, and operator took place during the currently ongoing Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Abunayyan added: “In collaboration with Verbund, we are excited to jointly explore the possibilities to deliver green hydrogen to Central Europe with a primary focus on Austria on a consistent basis.”
He said the move will not only support nations in their energy transition efforts, but also drive social development, industrial advancement, and economic growth across the region.
Since green hydrogen is created by electrolysis of water using solely renewable energy sources and has no carbon dioxide emissions, it stands as the cleanest and most efficient fuel globally and an impactful tool for addressing climate change.
Michael Strugl, the CEO of Verbund, noted that the Austrian firm is one of the largest producers of hydroelectricity in Europe. “With our portfolio of renewable energy production, transportation of electricity and gas as well as energy trading and services, we cover the whole energy value chain. Green hydrogen is a logical next step.”
Although the collaboration between ACWA Power and Verbund has only just begun, the two parties said they are well-positioned to drive project progression quickly, partly due to ACWA Power’s ongoing green hydrogen activities and involvement.
For instance, ACWA Power’s involvement in the NEOM Green Hydrogen Co. portrays the company’s capabilities to add a lot to the collaboration.
NGHC, which is a joint venture equally owned by ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM, is working on the first at-scale green hydrogen project in the world.
Set to be complete by 2026, the scheme is expected to produce up to 600 tons per day of carbon-free green hydrogen in the form of green ammonia. This will be used as a low-cost substitute for current transportation methods.
“Verbund's technological capabilities and over 75 years of hydropower expertise, combined with ACWA Power’s green hydrogen knowledge, experience, and operations, will help ensure that the MoU’s objectives, terms, and aspirations are met moving forward,” concluded the press release.
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.
