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Startup Wrap — Saudi Arabia leads MENA startup funding in August

UAE-based venture capital firm VentureSouq has closed its second fintech-focused fund, FinTech Fund II. (Supplied)
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Updated 13 September 2025
Nour El-Shaeri
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Startup Wrap — Saudi Arabia leads MENA startup funding in August

  • Kingdom led the region for the second consecutive month, attracting $166 million across 19 deals
Updated 13 September 2025
Nour El-Shaeri

RIYADH: Startup funding across the Middle East and North Africa posted a 74 percent year-on-year increase in August, with $337.5 million secured across 47 deals.

The figure reflects continued investor interest amid market recalibration, although the monthly total is a 57 percent drop from July’s record $783 million. 

Saudi Arabia led the region for the second consecutive month, attracting $166 million across 19 deals, while the UAE followed with $154 million raised by 11 startups. 

The funding concentration in Saudi Arabia and the UAE highlights their dominance in regional venture activity. 

Egypt, typically a top-three performer, saw continued weakness with just $14.7 million raised across eight startups. 

Iraq, which ranked third in July, fell to fifth with a single $1.5 million transaction, while Morocco retained its top-four position. 

Property tech emerged as the leading sector, raising $96 million across four deals, reflecting sustained investor appetite for real estate innovation. 

Fintech followed with $68.3 million raised across five transactions, staging a recovery after a weaker July. 

Construction technology took third, driven by MYCRANE’s $50 million round, while the gaming sector rose to fifth, buoyed by $12.6 million in Saudi-led investments— a sign of the Kingdom’s ambitions in digital content and gaming. 

Later-stage funding dominated the month, with three series B deals raising $112 million and three series A deals securing $82 million. 




UAE-based fintech Metric has secured funding from A-typical Ventures. (Supplied)

Debt financing accounted for $60 million, or 18 percent of total funding, while early-stage activity saw a notable decline, with 31 startups raising just $22 million. 

The figures indicate a more selective investment environment, with capital favoring scale-ups over seed-stage ventures. 

B2B startups attracted the majority of funding, raising $180 million across 32 deals. 

B2C ventures followed with $116.9 million from nine transactions, while hybrid models accounted for the remainder. 

The shift suggests investors are prioritising startups with clearer monetization models and enterprise focus. 

Funding remained largely male-dominated, with startups led by men securing $263.5 million across 41 deals. 

However, female-led ventures made gains, raising $72.3 million across two Saudi-based startups— Gathern and Phys— while mixed-gender teams attracted $1.6 million. 

Orbii raises $3.6m seed round 

Saudi-based credit infrastructure platform Orbii has secured $3.6 million in seed funding to expand its operations across the MENA region. 

The round was led by Prosus Ventures, with additional participation from VentureSouq, DASH Ventures, Taz Investments, and Sanabil 500. 

Founded in 2024, Orbii is building an artificial intelligence-powered platform that enables banks, fintechs, and B2B marketplaces to deliver SME lending solutions faster and more accurately. 

The technology integrates directly with banking systems, fintech platforms, point-of-sale networks, and ERP software to support real-time credit decisions. 

With the funding, Orbii plans to grow its footprint in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, enhance its engineering and data science teams, and advance its mission to unlock $1 billion in SME financing by 2026. 

Fitting secures $500k pre-seed funding

Saudi-based construction-tech startup Fitting has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by a strategic angel investor. 

The funding will support technology development, team expansion, and strategic partnerships in the Kingdom’s rapidly transforming construction sector. 

Founded in 2024, Fitting operates a digital marketplace connecting wholesale building materials suppliers with retailers and real estate developers. 

The platform addresses inefficiencies in procurement by improving transparency and reducing waste. 

The company is positioning itself to play a central role in Saudi Arabia’s construction ecosystem amid Vision 2030 and mega-projects such as Neom and Qiddiya. 

MoneyHash and noon payments partner 

Middle East and Africa-based payment orchestration platform MoneyHash has entered into a strategic partnership with noon payments to enhance access to localized payment methods across the Gulf region. 

Through a single API, businesses can now activate key regional payment options, including Mada, KNET, and Benefit, as well as Meeza and Omannet.  

The collaboration brings together MoneyHash’s orchestration technology with noon payments’ extensive regional coverage to simplify operations and improve customer experiences. 

The joint solution targets digital-first businesses and enterprises seeking faster deployment, streamlined backend integration, and improved approval rates across fragmented payment systems. 

21Doctors closes pre-seed round to build Arabic-first AI medical infrastructure 

Saudi-based health tech startup 21Doctors has completed its pre-seed funding round, backed by a group of strategic angel investors. 

The company has also established its headquarters in Saudi Arabia, which will serve as the central hub for operations and product development. 

Founded by Osama Al-Mabroum and Rania Abu Taleb, 21Doctors is focused on creating AI-driven healthcare tools tailored for Arabic-speaking medical providers. 

The platform is designed to support digital transformation in the sector, aligned with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. 

The company aims to expand its technology and partnerships across the Gulf following early traction in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. 

DawaDose secures pre-seed funding to build integrated digital pharmaceutical platform 

Saudi-headquartered healthtech startup DawaDose has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round supported by angel investors. 

The company will use the capital to establish its headquarters in the Kingdom and expand across regional markets. 

Founded by Rushdi Abdalghani and Osama Al-Mabroum, DawaDose is building a fully integrated B2C and B2B pharmaceutical ecosystem, connecting pharmacies, wholesalers, and consumers through AI-powered digital tools. 

The company’s roadmap includes strengthening partnerships and preparing for regional expansion, with a strong alignment to Vision 2030. 

TERN Group raises $24m 

TERN Group, a UK- and UAE-based AI-powered healthcare talent mobility platform, has raised $24 million in a series A round led by Notion Capital. 

The latest round brings the company’s total funding to $33 million, with participation from EQ2 Ventures, RTP Global, LocalGlobe, Leo Capital, Presight Capital, and Tom Stafford of DST Global. 

Founded in 2023 by Avinav Nigam and Krishna Ramkumar, TERN focuses on training, certifying, and deploying healthcare professionals from 13 countries into high-demand markets. 

The platform claims to reduce recruitment timelines from up to 12 months to under 10 weeks. 

The new capital will fund expansion of its AI, training, and compliance infrastructure and support growth across the GCC, Europe, and the UK. 

VentureSouq closes fintech Fund II with support from top regional LPs 

UAE-based venture capital firm VentureSouq has closed its second fintech-focused fund, FinTech Fund II, with participation from prominent limited partners including Jada Fund of Funds, Saudi Venture Capital Co., Saudi Awwal Bank, Mubadala, Takamol, Krafton, and Jordan’s ISSF. 

The fund will focus on early-stage fintech and Software-as-a-Service startups across MENA, targeting verticals such as payments infrastructure, digital banking, alternative credit, insurance tech, and property tech. 

With over $250 million in assets under management and a track record that includes investments in Tabby, Huspy, Yassir, and Mozn, VentureSouq continues to expand its presence in the regional innovation ecosystem. 

AI fintech Metric secures funding to scale across the GCC 

UAE-based fintech Metric has secured funding from A-typical Ventures, with participation from 500 Global, Hub71, and i2i Ventures, as well as Plus VC, Epic Angels, Oqal Angels, Accelerate Prosperity, and regional angel investors. 

The capital will support product development and regional expansion. 

Founded in 2022, Metric provides founders and small business owners with tools to simplify complex financial data. 

The platform includes dashboards, benchmarking tools, forecasting capabilities, and a conversational AI adviser designed to help users make data-driven decisions.  

Property Finder raises $525m via minority stake sale

UAE-based real estate platform Property Finder has raised $525 million through a minority stake sale to Permira and Blackstone. General Atlantic partially exited during the transaction but remains a significant shareholder. 

The sale marks Permira’s first investment in the Middle East. 

Property Finder aims to use the new capital and partnerships with Permira, Blackstone, and General Atlantic to accelerate growth in Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. 

The transaction follows a $90 million debt financing round in 2024 led by Francisco Partners. 

PRYPCO closes pre-series A round led by General Catalyst 

UAE-based proptech platform PRYPCO has closed a pre-series A round of undisclosed value, led by General Catalyst.

The company claims to have enabled nearly 10 billion dirhams ($2.72 billion) in mortgage transactions and supported over 3,000 Golden Visa applications since its founding in 2022. 

Established by Amira Sajwani, PRYPCO operates PRYPCO Blocks, which offers fractional property ownership, and PRYPCO Mint, a tokenized real estate investment platform. 

The fresh funding will support expansion of the platform’s offerings, regulatory engagement, and continued growth across the MENA region.

Topics: Start-up of the Week MENA

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Red Sea’s oxygen balance under strain, experts warn

Updated 13 February 2026
Ghadi Joudah
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Red Sea’s oxygen balance under strain, experts warn

  • Scientists say warming waters, nutrient runoff and coastal development could quietly erode coral resilience
Updated 13 February 2026
Ghadi Joudah

RIYADH: The Red Sea may not have dead zones, but its fragile ecosystem is vulnerable to oxygen depletion — a quiet decline that can undermine coral health and disrupt marine life.

Sea dead zones are hypoxic or low-oxygen pockets that form most often when nutrient pollution — especially nitrogen and phosphorus from farm runoff and wastewater — fuels blooms that ultimately strip oxygen from the water.

Experts say the risk is not inevitable, but it depends on earlier detection and tighter control of the conditions that drain oxygen from coastal waters.

A sea that relies on its own “breathing” is also a sea shaped by geography.

FASTFACT

DID YOU KNOW?

  • The Red Sea is naturally low in oxygen because of its warm waters and high salinity — making it especially vulnerable to further oxygen decline.
  • The Red Sea’s narrow Bab Al-Mandab strait limits deepwater exchange, meaning the basin largely depends on its own internal circulation to ‘replenish’ oxygen.
  • Saudi Arabia’s coastline features steep underwater drop-offs, allowing deep, oxygen-poor water to move closer to coral reefs near shore.

Matheus Paiva, a senior oceanographer, told Arab News that “the Red Sea’s shallow Bab Al-Mandab choke point limits deepwater exchange,” meaning oxygen replenishment depends heavily on internal overturning circulation.

He said this circulation is driven as surface waters flow north, cool, become denser and sink, helping ventilate deeper layers through vertical mixing.

Paiva said the Saudi coastline’s underwater topography makes the risk more immediate close to shore.

Coral reefs along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, where scientists say warm, salty waters and limited deep-water exchange can leave ecosystems vulnerable to low-oxygen stress. (Unsplash.com)

“Unlike regions with wide, gradual shelves, our coast features narrow fringing reefs that drop sharply into deep water via steep underwater cliffs and canyons,” he said.

“This ‘step-and-drop’ topography brings deep oxygen-poor water close to shore.”

Paiva said warming at the surface can intensify stratification and reduce vertical mixing. He said that can allow low-oxygen water to creep upslope and affect shallower reef zones.

How oxygen gets consumed faster than it’s replaced is where human pressure can tip the balance.

Carlos Duarte, executive director or the Coral Research and Development Accelerator Program at KAUST, told Arab News that the Red Sea’s baseline conditions create vulnerability. “Because of its warm waters and high salinity, the Red Sea is inherently low in oxygen and, therefore, vulnerable to processes that decline oxygen further.”

He said algal blooms and heat waves raise biological oxygen demand, linking low oxygen to coral mortality.

Duarte said human-driven nutrient and organic inputs can intensify these declines.

He said poorly managed urban development and aquaculture operations can contribute nutrient and organic loads that fuel algal blooms.

Coral reefs along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, where scientists say warm, salty waters and limited deep-water exchange can leave ecosystems vulnerable to low-oxygen stress. (Unsplash.com)

Duarte said that as bloom material decomposes, it strips oxygen from the water and can lead to hypoxia.

The Red Sea’s celebrated clarity reflects a naturally nutrient-poor system. “The risk is amplified because the Red Sea is naturally oligotrophic. It is nutrient-poor and crystal clear,” Paiva said.

He added that wastewater releases and heavy rain events that trigger flash floods can push large nutrient loads into coastal waters in a short time.

In turn, those pulses can threaten biodiversity and the marine environment that underpins tourism investments along the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast.

Seeing low oxygen coming — rather than reacting after the fact — is the promise of new monitoring and analytics.

Paiva said high-accuracy oxygen data still relies on direct measurements collected during vessel surveys.

Carlos Duarte, executive director or the Coral Research and Development Accelerator Program at KAUST.

“We still depend heavily on classic vessel surveys,” he said. Teams deploy multiparameter sondes to profile the water column and collect water samples to establish a baseline.

“This ‘water-truthing’ remains the industry standard for high-accuracy data,” he said.

Saeed Al-Zahrani, general manager for Saudi Arabia at NetApp, said continuous data can help teams intervene earlier. “Oxygen depletion is rarely sudden; it tends to build over time when conditions line up,” he said.

Al-Zahrani said AI can flag anomalies, learn what “normal” looks like in specific locations, and generate short-horizon risk forecasts.

He added that it creates a decision window — guidance on when to increase sampling, where to focus response efforts, and when to tighten controls around discharges.

Coastal development that reduces oxygen risk starts, Duarte said, with what never reaches the sea.

Duarte said Saudi Arabia’s west coast investments have an advantage compared with older coastal destinations: the opportunity to design sustainability into projects from the outset rather than trying to retrofit after degradation becomes evident.

Duarte said nutrient control is a direct lever to reduce oxygen-depletion risk. “Achieve circular economies where organic products and nutrients are recycled and reused in the system to avoid discharging nutrients to the marine environment,” he said.

Al-Zahrani said wastewater and environmental systems produce huge volumes of information, but fragmentation can slow decisions.

He said connecting data in near real time can help detect problems earlier and anticipate load spikes tied to rainfall, tourism peaks, or industrial activity.

Reef resilience depends on reducing stress before heat and low oxygen overlap.

Duarte told Arab News: “Coral reefs are extremely vulnerable to oxygen depletion.” He added that it can contribute to bleaching and mortality in a warmer ocean.

He said marine heat waves can worsen oxygen stress by reducing oxygen solubility and limiting ventilation of subsurface waters, while increasing oxygen demands of organisms.

Duarte said reducing nutrient inputs and managing reefs to avoid excessive growth of seaweed can build resistance.

He also said models that account for how waves and currents interact with reef topography — work he said is being developed at KAUST — can help guide restoration toward sites more likely to remain oxygenated during heat stress.

Topics: Green & Blue

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