Early-stage funding activity buoyed deal making in the Middle East during the last week of September. At least three UAE-based startups raised funds, led by risk-monitoring startup Cypherleak, which closed a seed round. Besides, fintech player BILRS and online sports platform Fanzword raised pre-seed rounds.
Meanwhile, on the M&A front, Canadian marketing company ClearPier acquired UAE-based Media Quest Group (MQuest).
Also, Abu Dhabi-based investment holding company Alpha Dhabi Holding agreed to acquire a majority stake in Metito Holdings, a water and wastewater management solutions provider in the Middle East.
Cyber risk monitoring startup Cypherleak raised $750,000 in a seed round from regional investors, including Qatar Insurance Company and Maroc Numeric Fund II, as it aims to expand across the Middle East and Africa.
The UAE-based startup was founded in 2022 by Mohamed Amine Belarbi and allows companies to track their leaked passwords and information on both the public web and dark web.
It simplifies advanced risk monitoring for smaller companies, which eliminates the need for extensive cybersecurity technical expertise.
The startup has sold subscriptions to over 1,000 corporate end-users across Europe and the MENA region, focussing on small and medium enterprises.
UAE-based startup BILRS raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed round from UK-based early stage investor Haatch.
Founded in 2022 by Rupert Shaw, BILRS offers a single integration platform for retail and digital players in the cross-border space to offer direct bill payment for power, gas and other utilities.
The platform connects clients to multiple companies across 30 countries. These include Arab Bank, Lulu Exchange and Careem.
MQuest x ClearPier
Media Quest Group (MQuest), a UAE-based marketing company got acquired by Canadian performance advertising company ClearPier for $35 million.
This is ClearPier’s fourth strategic acquisition since last year and will solidify its expansion across the Gulf Cooperation Council and Europe.
It acquired PubPlus for $60 million in May 2022, followed by Cygobel for $40 million and Hang My Ads, for $35 million in the last quarter of 2022 and operates across 17 countries.
Founded in 2020 by John Rowe, Jay (Mitul) Bhojani and Lorraine Hall, MQuest is a data-centric marketing startup that bridges the gap between advertisers and consumers exhibiting high purchase intent.
Online fantasy sports platform Fanzword raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding, led by XVC Tech and other regional angel investors to strengthen its presence in the region.
Founded in 2021 by Ibrahim El Mohdar and Amr El-Beheiry, the UAE-based startup is a football fan engagement or a social network platform for football fans that allows them to discuss matches with their friends and other football fans, earn points, and rewards.
The funding will allow Fanzword to leverage its web3 gaming capabilities. It claims to have increased its user base by 120x in 2022.