INVESTMENTS

 ACQUISITIONS

Lezzoo, Iraq-based on-demand delivery startup, acquired Saydo, Iraq-based B2B marketplace, for an undisclosed value. Lezzoo was founded in 2019 and was part of Y Combinator during that year, while Saydo was founded in 2021 and focuses on providing its services to the FMCG market. [via Linkedin]

Cavendish Maxwell, UAE-based real estate advisory, acquired a majority stake in Property Monitor, UAE-based, proptech data company, value undisclosed. Property Monitor was founded in 2017 and provides professionals with real-time data and tools to make informed decisions.

 INVESTMENT IN INTL STARTUPS

Upstream Health, US-based healthtech startup, raised $140M in series B funding from Mubadala and other global investors. The startup was founded in 2018 and is trying to promote a value-based care system, that prices healthcare services based on effectiveness rather than service costs.

The Applied AI Company (AAICO), UK-based enterprise Saas, raised $42M in funding from multiple global investors including G42 and undisclosed family offices from MENA. The startup was founded in 2021 and develops targeted machine-learning products that automate mission-critical business processes.

Uolo, India-based edtech platform, raised $22.5M in funding led by Winter Capital (UAE) and joined by Morphosis Venture Capital (UAE) as well as other investors. The startup was founded in 2020 and works with 8.5k schools and reaches 3.7M students in India alone.

Vevo Therapeutics, US-based biotech startup, raised $12M in seed funding from Mubadala Capital and other global investors. The startup was founded in 2022 and develops a technology that can measure how a drug impacts cells across patients, generating millions of data-points on drug-induced changes in gene expression.

Ziwig, France-based femtech startup, raised funding from Sothema, Morocco-based pharmaceutical company, value undisclosed. The startup was founded in 2020 and develops medical diagnostic solutions based on RNA and artificial intelligence-powered research. The founders of Ziwig are of Moroccan origin.

Koble, UK-based investment data platform, raised $1.2M in pre-seed funding from Modus Capital (UAE) and other global investors. The startup was founded in 2020 and has developed a platform that evaluates the potential of startups based on a predictive deep-learning model.

 SECTOR NEWS

TransferGo, UK-HQ international remittances platform, expands services to a number of African countries including Morocco. The company had expanded services to the GCC in 2020.

YallaXash, Morocco-based remittances app, expands services to Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal in partnership with ATPS, a subsidiary of M2T.

e& (Etisalat) and Swarmio Media, Canada-HQ gaming and esports platform, partner to launch Arena Esports across the MENA region. Arena Sports is a gaming and esports platform based on Swarmio’s proprietary Ember platform.

Moove, Nigeria-HQ automotive-financing startup, raised $30M in funding from a debut sukuk issuance arranged by Franklin Templeton Investments. The startup will use the funding to expand to the UAE, and launch EV-focused app. It had raised funding from regional investors, KAAF Investments, Spartech Ventures, and NBK Capital Partners over the past two years.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the licensing of Manafa, Saudi-based debt-based crowdfunding platform, after a successful trial run in SAMA's Regulatory Sandbox.

 REPORTS

Additiv published the ‘Understanding the Embedded Finance Opportunity’ report that surveys consumers’ financial services expectations across global markets including the UAE. According to the report, 85% of consumers surveyed in the UAE feel the online financial services their bank or financial service provider offers meet their personal needs. While 55% of the respondents say they have traded or hold cryptocurrencies, and 64% say they are staking cryptocurrencies for rewards. 83% of respondents in the UAE (highest globally) showed interest in BNPL services.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Fintech Hype Meets Reality in the Remittances Market’ report, which looks at the impact of fintech startups on the remittances market, including blockchain technology, globally including MENA. According to the report, globally the cost of remittances has decreased gradually over the past ten years, except in MENA where the costs remain high. Syria is the 4th most expensive country for remittances in the world, followed by Lebanon in the 14th rank globally. In 2021, MENA constituted 6.4% of international remittance value.

Finastra published the ‘Financial Services: State of the Nation’s Survey 2022’ report that was conducted on professionals at financial institutions and banks across multiple global markets including the UAE. According to the report, 71% of financial professionals surveyed (highest globally) in the UAE believe that open finance is a ‘must have’ for their organizations, up from 50% in 20221. They also share a much more optimistic perception than their peer globally on the impact of open finance across collaborative potential, customer experience, and the industry’s evolution. 41% of the respondents also say that banking-as-a-service has been deployed or improved at their organizations in the past 12 months.

YouGov published ‘The Global Media Landscape’ report which surveys consumers on their media consumption habits globally, including in the UAE. According to the report, 34% of the consumers surveyed in the UAE reported that they have video-on-demand subscriptions, while 23% reported that they have canceled their subscriptions to video platforms (the highest number globally). Also, 23% of the consumers reported subscribing to music streaming services, while 22% report that they have canceled their subscriptions (also highest globally)

IMD’s World Competitiveness Center published the ‘World Talent Ranking 2022’ report that assesses the status and the development of talent necessary for enterprises and the economy to achieve long-term value creation. According to the report, the UAE ranks 21st globally and 1st regionally on Talent, up from 23rd rank last year. Saudi ranks 30th globally, followed by Qatar 34th and Bahrain 35th. However, the UAE ranks 45th globally on investment in home-grown talent and 15th in attracting overseas talent, the opposite of Saudi which fairs better on the development of home-grown talent but is less appealing than the UAE to global talent.

 POLICY

🇯🇴 Jordan’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship launched a national electronic billing system. Details of the rollout were not disclosed.