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BNPL is up and down. Rotana lands on Spotify. Mubadala expands its biotech portfolio. PIF increased its stake in Nintendo. Y Combinator announced the Winter 2023 Cohort with 3 startups from MENA.
💰 Startup Investments: At least $215M was invested across 7 startups this week, led by $150M invested in ONE Moto, UAE's EV last-mile delivery startup. This brings the total funding this January to $242M across 17 startups.
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 INVESTMENTS
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ONE MOTO, UAE-based electric vehicles manufacturer for the last mile and delivery, raised (£123M) $150M in funding from undisclosed UK-based investors. The startup was founded in 2019 and will use the funding to expand operations to the UK. It produces its own electric vehicles as well as a telematics and fleet management software solution.
Tabby, UAE-based BNPL, raised $58M in Series C funding at a $660M valuation from Sequoia Capital India, STV and PayPal Ventures, Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst. The startup was founded in 2019 and says it works with over 10k brands and has over 3M active shoppers on its platform.
🚀 Quick Investments:
- Alaan, (UAE) spend management platform, raised $4.5M in pre-series A funding from Presight Capital, Y Combinator, and angel investors.
- Flyby, (UAE) last-mile delivery company, raised $1M in seed funding led by FHS Capital and VN2 Capital.
- Alsaree3 Group, (Iraq) delivery platform, raised a ‘seven figure’ funding round from undisclosed investors, value also undisclosed. [via linkedin]
- Terra, (UAE) B2B micromobility startup, raised a pre-seed funding round from undisclosed angel investors.
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Y Combinator Winter 2023 Cohort includes 3 MENA-based startups:
- Alaan (above)
- Sirdab (Saudi-based cloud warehousing and supply chain)
- Rollstack (UAE-based data storytelling and slide automation)
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ACQUISITIONS
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GBarena, Egypt-based eSports platform, acquired Galactech Studio, Tunisia-based esports startup, in a $15M share swap agreement. GBarena was founded in 2016 backed by AUC Venture Lab and has a presence in Riyadh, Dubai, and Tunisia. Galactech Studio was founded in 2019 and says it has 200k users to date.
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INVESTMENTS IN INTL STARTUPS
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Ensoma, US-based biotech startup, raised $85M in series B funding from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and other international investors. The company was founded in 2021 and is developing intravenous smart immune cell medicines to address complex diseases.
Wakefit, India-based D2C company, raised $40M in series D funding led by Investcorp. The company was founded in 2016 and produces mattresses and sleep solutions, and sells them directly through its online channels.
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SECTOR NEWS
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Mubadala Investment Company made a co-investment in the SV Biotech Crossover Opportunities Fund (SV BCOF) through the UK’s Life Sciences Investment Programme (LSIP). The SV BCOF targets growth-stage, biotechnology companies developing transformative therapies in the UK that have the potential to positively impact society by addressing major unmet clinical needs.
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Spotii, UAE-based BNPL that was acquired by Zip, Australia-based BNPL, in 2021 sent an email to its merchant partners announcing the discontinuation of its services in the UAE. [via Twitter]
Spotify signed a licensing agreement with Rotana Music Group which will introduce the label’s music catalog to be available on Spotify across the MENA.
Binance launches in Bahrain under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Economic Development Board. The company was awarded a crypto-asset service provider license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) in March 2022.
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PUBLIC MARKETS
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Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) increased its stake in Nintendo from 5% to 6% according to regulatory filings.
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REPORTS
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OpenSignal published ‘Iraq: Mobile Network Experience Report’ that measures the performance of wireless networks and operators in the country. According to the report, Asiacell takes the top rank across availability of mobile internet (98.3%), with the fastest download and upload speeds, as well as, 4G network availability and performance. While Korek matches up its performance on Game experience and consistency of service. Opensignal also published ‘Oman: Mobile Network Experience Report’ showing stronger competition between Omantal, Ooredoo and Vodafone. According to the report, Omantel and Vodafone provide the highest download speeds for mobile internet, however, Vodafone significantly outperformed on upload speeds. Ooredoo and Vodafone provide the best game experience. Omantel provides the best 5G coverage in the country, while Ooredoo provides the best overall coverage (by narrow margins).
Martech published the ‘2023 State of Martech in the Middle East’ report that surveys CMOs in the Middle East on technology trends, changing market dynamics and evolving economic conditions. According to the report, 64% of CMOs said investment in technology is their top priority while deciding critical elements of their marketing budgets, while only 15% said that talent acquisition and upskilling resources are significant for them, and 17% directed their martech investments to build data infrastructure.
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POLICY
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🇦🇪 UAE’s Ministry of Economy (MoE) announced amendments to the Commercial Transactions Law that drops the age permitted to open a business from 21 to 18 years of age, as well as establish legal references for banking institutions to stimulate investments and ease access for the digital sector.
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