Startups from MENA in Y Combinator’s Batch 1 of pitches:
* Lezzoo - Iraqi on-demand delivery service in Iraq
* Breadfast - Egypt based breakfast delivery platform (previously covered here http://bit.ly/2KCM8M1)
https://tcrn.ch/2KJqVi5

Nana Direct, Saudi grocery platform, raises $6.6M in Series A co-led by MEVP and Impact46, and joined by Watar Partners, Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) Company, Wamda Capital and Alzamil family - this announcement was made in late February via twitter which we covered but the tweet has since been removed http://bit.ly/2Zb10rT

Pushbots, Egypt, is added to Github’s Student Developer Pack program https://tcrn.ch/2ZjX7Rs

CBInsights publishes: “The Most Well-Funded Tech Startups In The UAE In One Infographic” http://bit.ly/2zfpkdv

Egyptian Ministry of Finance is looking to impose taxes on eCommerce and Social Media advertising activities http://bit.ly/2ZldSYx

Startup from MENA in Y Combinator’s Batch 2 of pitches: Trella, Cairo-based trucking marketplaces (announced previously: http://bit.ly/2H3VLzX) https://tcrn.ch/2zdLNI0

Wafra, Sovereign Wealth Fund of Kuwait, joins $400M round of investment into Knotel, US Based WeWork competitor, along with other investors including Rocket Internet. Knotel’s valuation is estimated at $1B http://bit.ly/2P8zAPw

RuPay, Indian credit card company (competitor of Mastercard/Visa) to launch in the UAE http://bit.ly/2ZnHUyF

Cisco acquired US-based Voicea (Egyptian founders); Voicea had previously acquired Dubai-based Wrappup & their team, which are now a part of the second acquisition. Wrappup has raised investment from BECO Capital, 500 Startups, Arzan VC, Womena, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, Dubai Angel Investors, and Hala Fadel http://bit.ly/2Zsnj8g

Jordan introduces new taxes for social media, influencers and eCommerce http://bit.ly/2MJniLB

Snapchat commissioned a study of Saudi Nationals usage of the platform:
* Saudi’s watch more online video than traditional TV
* 80% view premium short-from videos
more here: http://bit.ly/2L6MwA7

India’s Paytm, plans expansion of Paytm Mall & eBay into the Middle East http://bit.ly/2ZskzrA

Viu, Asian content streaming platform with operation in MENA, announces collaboration with Wattpad “social storytelling platform” to produce more original content http://bit.ly/2Hpci1s

BLOMbank, Lebanon, upgrades existing NFC-enabled BLOMPay, mobile payment service, with Mastercard integration http://bit.ly/2Znb10S

Drop, Canadian retail offers startup, raises $44M led by HOF Capital (a fund led by some of Egypt’s wealthiest family groups) https://tcrn.ch/2NvGrQI

Abu Dhabi Reglab adds 4 more startups: DAPI (UAE), PointCheckout (UAE), Jibrel Network (Switzerland) & Ekofolio (Luxemburg) http://bit.ly/2PdzBle

Central Bank of Bahrain issues final rules on “insurance aggregators” http://bit.ly/33WftY4

Eventtus, Egypt HQ event platform, expands to Saudi http://bit.ly/2zq4VlO

Long read: Pew Research Center conducts study “In Emerging Economies, Smartphone and Social Media Users Have Broader Social Networks” on users in 11 countries including: Lebanon, Jordan & Tunisia: *Users reported using smartphone for getting regular news: 55% Jordan (highest), 51% Lebanon, only 31% Tunisia
*Look up health related information: 70% Jordan (highest), 61% Lebanon, 54% Tunisia
https://pewrsr.ch/2MBuIAc

Trolley, egypt-based grocery delivery, raises $200k in funding from a Kuwaiti angel investor It’s unclear if that funding is inclusive of the amount raised from Y Combinator or not http://bit.ly/2PdqLUu

Mecal, ecommerce platform focused on men’s accessories, raises investment from Ibtikar Fund and Innovative Startups and SME’s Fund (ISSF) - amount undisclosed http://bit.ly/345jdq8

Aster DM Healthcare to setup an “Aster Innovation and Research Centre” between GCC and India http://bit.ly/2Hsr1ZI

Tunisian Post launches a QR payment solution "Masterpass QR" in a bid to encourage mobile payments http://bit.ly/2Ht7qs1

SINC, Bahrain-based workforce management startup, raised $250k led by Dubai Angel Investors and other regional investors for expansion http://bit.ly/340gnmB

Platform 9, US-based fully managed hybrid cloud platform, raises $25M in series D led by NGP Capital, joined by Mubadala Ventures and others https://tcrn.ch/2NDqgAE

NowPay, Egypt-based payday advance startup, raises $600k in Seed funding from Endure Capital and 500 Startups http://bit.ly/2Zxq0pf

Falcon Network, dubai-based angel investment network, invests $450k in 6 startups: Aion Sigma, Caravan, Saaya Health, Teacherly, Virtual i Technologies and Workaround http://bit.ly/2ZueDT3

Lulu Group, UAE based retail conglomerate, announces plan to invest $500m in Egypt as part of its expansion into the country http://bit.ly/2Ufq3oQ

August’s most-read articles:

Incorta, Egyptian founders - SF based, raises $30M in Series C led by Sorenson Capital, GV (Google Ventures), Kleiner Perkins, M12 (Microsoft Ventures), and Telstra Ventures, and expands offices to Chicago, Dubai and Bangalore (already has office in Egypt) http://bit.ly/2HclN41

CBInsights publishes: “The Most Well-Funded Tech Startups In The UAE In One Infographic” http://bit.ly/2zfpkdv

New Venture Capital fund to launch in Dubai: Vuja De Capital http://bit.ly/2YXCqdH

Cisco acquired US-based Voicea (Egyptian founders); Voicea had previously acquired Dubai-based Wrappup & their team, which are now a part of the second acquisition. Wrappup has raised investment from BECO Capital, 500 Startups, Arzan VC, Womena, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, Dubai Angel Investors, and Hala Fadel http://bit.ly/2Zsnj8g

Pew Research Center conducts study “In Emerging Economies, Smartphone and Social Media Users Have Broader Social Networks” on users in 11 countries including: Lebanon, Jordan & Tunisia https://pewrsr.ch/2MBuIAc

MBC Group announced the launch of Creative Communities Collaboration (CCC), a public-private association of global media & entertainment executives “to strengthen ties and partnerships between the MENA region and the Hollywood entertainment industry” http://bit.ly/2Kfw4y5

MoneyFellows, Egypt’s fintech startup that provides peer-ro-peer loan facilities, raises a Pre-Series A round of $1M from existing investors 500 Startups and Dubai Angel Investors http://bit.ly/2Yo1qvb

Wafra, Sovereign Wealth Fund of Kuwait, joins $400M round of investment into Knotel, US Based WeWork competitor, along with other investors including Rocket Internet. Knotel’s valuation is estimated at $1B http://bit.ly/2P8zAPw

Snapchat commissioned a study of Saudi Nationals usage of the platform http://bit.ly/2L6MwA7

Well Principled, US based AI startup, raised $1.6M in seed funding from Venture Souq (Dubai), Soma Capital and Global Founders Capital http://bit.ly/32k4V3q 

Careem Go and Uber X categories have been suspended in Dubai http://bit.ly/2ltabl6

Doctoorum, a marketplace for Medical Tourism, announces investment from Numu Capital. Amount undisclosed. Doctoorum is a graduate from AUC Venture Lab Accelerator http://bit.ly/2m0Z9nv

Telp.me, Bahrain based tutoring marketplace, raises angel investment from Yaser Al Ghamdi. via twitter http://bit.ly/2lDOVJk

Emaar, leading dubai real-estate developer, launches a short-term rental platform called Ease by Emaar. The properties will also be available on airbnb, booking.com and others. http://bit.ly/2lZXyhJ

Mubadala expected to invest in Vision Fund 2 in Q4 https://reut.rs/2lAwKEu

Vodafone Group to enter Omani market as a new telecom operator. Oman currently has 2 main operators: Omantel and Ooredoo http://bit.ly/2kkbDWZ

Wired Magazine launches Middle East edition http://bit.ly/2LlmVVh

Arrow Labs, Dubai-based wearable workforce management, expands to the USA. They had raised a single funding round from Global Ventures (Dubai) in May, 2018 (amount undisclosed) http://bit.ly/2LoJUPz

Qatar blocks Uber’s acquisition of Careem within the country http://bit.ly/318Vx2y

Foloosi, UAE-based fintech startup, closes a angel funding round of $500k (inclusive of the committed funding in June) http://bit.ly/2A5bxGA

Accion Venture Lab & Fund, $33M, launches to invest in MENAP based startups focused on financial inclusion http://bit.ly/2A0bImT

Youtube launches subscription based premium music streaming service in MENA http://bit.ly/2k6ehiG

Saudi’s Ministry of Labor launches a new platform to facilitate freelance work licenses in the kingdom (AR) http://bit.ly/2kaPzhc

Egypt’s ICT Minister says they plan to launch 7 technological parks in 7 universities across Egypt, with EGP 1B (~$60M) budget from the government, and aims to increase ICT contribution to GDP to 4% by end of year http://bit.ly/2kFEFjE

Egypt begins digitization of its energy grid http://bit.ly/2ka3qEr

The World Economic Forum publishes the 2019 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report. The UAE leads MENA enablement, infrastructure, ICT, labor and at a globally competitive level, however it’s not faring well on nature, openness and price. Full report here: http://bit.ly/2kqLhCF

Shelvz, Lebanon-based Saas-workforce management platform, raises funding from iM Capital http://bit.ly/2kfmMIv

Misk Growth Accelerator kicks off cycle with 11 startups, each of which will receive up to $100k in funding from Seedstars & Vision Ventures by end of cycle http://bit.ly/2kFN7zz

CareemPay launches mobile top-up capability in Egypt and Pakistan http://bit.ly/2lQpeFw

Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) grants the first full digital banking license to Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank, which will allow it to provide corporate banking services to Abu Dhabi based companies starting with ones based in ADGM http://bit.ly/2ZTVkmf

Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) is considering to expand the scope of digital currencies to banks & other countries http://bit.ly/30dybHr

Central Bank of Egypt to launch over $50M fintech fund http://bit.ly/2kc7KDc

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar (owned by Mubadala) and the UK government have invested £70M ($86.5M) in a new green technology fund to be managed by London-based Zouk Capital http://bit.ly/2lIVsmk

Swvl expands into two new cities in Pakistan and launches engineering office in Karachi http://bit.ly/2kgQTiC

31 Startups Participating in the DIFC FinTech Hive’s 2019 Accelerator Program in Dubai. DIFC provides support for three month but no direct equity based investment http://bit.ly/2kJPgKA

National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) joins trade finance blockchain network Marco Polo, which has 22 members including Mastercard, BNP Paribas, ING & Standard Chartered http://bit.ly/2mfD3xF

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank launches blockchain-based trade finance http://bit.ly/2kMjywj

Egypt to start work on $2.4B telecom network for first phase of new capital city https://reut.rs/2mfDqZ5

Teacherly, UAE-based edtech platform, raises funding from Shorooq Partners http://bit.ly/2kD8BNF

Emirates NBD, UAE, to launch audio banking capabilities through Amazon Alexa http://bit.ly/2lTdkuH

UPayments, Kuwait-based epayment provider, raises seed funding from Angel Investors http://bit.ly/2kGzDnm

Wahed Invest (Wahed), raises a “multi-million dollar investment” from Dubai Cultiv8 Investments Limited, a subsidiary of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund for SME (an integrated division of the Department of Economic Development) http://bit.ly/2lX2Muy

Dubizzle, UAE-based Olx subsidiary, launches a new portal for listing off-line projects in the UAE http://bit.ly/2m0OusK

Investcorp, Bahrain, to acquire Italy-HQ ticketing platform Vivaticket which has more than “2,100 clients across 50 countries including Walt Disney World, Musee du Louvre and FC Barcelona” http://bit.ly/2m07jww

University of Bahrain (UOB) announced the launch of a new cloud computing degree program in collaboration with AWS Educate Cloud Degree initiative http://bit.ly/2lV9elW

Halan, Egyptian tuk-tuk startup, to expand to Ethiopia https://reut.rs/2ksDJzh

Etisalat, UAE, to acquire full ownership of cybersecurity firm Help AG’s businesses in the UAE & Saudi http://bit.ly/2mmKsLz

Ipsos shares stats on Subscription video on demand (SVoD) in Saudi Arabia for 2018 http://bit.ly/2lWFHs4

Egyptian Cabinet approves Ride-Hailing Apps Act, which will require companies and drivers to pay, registration, licensing, taxes and social insurance http://bit.ly/2kTdFNU Official Gazette (AR) http://bit.ly/2lZxDXp

UAE and Saudi central banks lower interest rates after US Fed cut http://bit.ly/2mqvdBz

South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank’s 2020 investment report says Egypt is still the most attractive country to invest in in Africa, followed by Morocco, then South Africa http://bit.ly/2mhUsFQ (full report will be available in Jan 2020 for non-RMB clients)

Career 180, Egypt career advising platform, has raised $100k in seed funding from EdVentures http://bit.ly/2mm1l98

Dabchy, Tunis-based peer-to-peer (P2P) fashion marketplace, raises $300k seed round led by 500 Startups, and joined by Flat6Labs, Vision Ventures, DAAL, and angel investors http://bit.ly/2m6Ayhb

Arab Bank, Switzerland, to launch suite of cryptocurrency services in Arab world, including Bitcoin & Ethereum brokerage and custody http://bit.ly/2kqNqOu

NanoRacks, leading provider of commercial access to space, is opening and staffing its first office in the UAE at Abu Dhabi's Hub71 http://bit.ly/2mw5SWV

Apple’s AppStore now available in arabic http://bit.ly/2kXWnza