Big ticket pre-seed funding rounds dominated the startup deal making activity in the Gulf region this week, led by a two-year old UAE-based fintech startup Twig, which reportedly raised over $1 million. Meanwhile, a food technology startup ChatFood was acquired by Belgium’s Deliverect for an undisclosed sum.
However, overall deal-making volume dropped compared to the first week of May, which saw fund raises by direct to customer e-commerce brand Squatwolf, business-to-business ecommerce player Eighty6, superapp Snoonu, and fintech player Tarabut Gateway.
Belgium-based food delivery software as a service (SaaS) provider acquired UAE’s foodtech industry leader ChatFood for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2018 by Benjamin Mouflard and Vinicius Rodrigues, ChatFood is an omnichannel food ordering and data-driven marketing platform, which enables restaurants to take orders from Instagram and WhatsApp. It also offers order and pay at the table along with loyalty solutions.
It had raised $3 million in a bridge round in July 2022 led by Antler to set up operations in Saudi Arabia. It had raised $5 million in seed round in 2021 from Beco Capital and Wamda Capital. Since its launch, ChatFood has on board 3,000 hospitality providers as its clients. Meanwhile, Deliverect as a SaaS provider integrates online orders from food delivery channels into restaurants’ POS to improve their operational flow.
The acquisition will enable Deliverect to extend social media offering among other enhanced offerings in the Middle East.
Gulf region's first automated savings platform Twig Solutions reportedly raised over $1 million in a pre-seed round, led by Phoenician VC to support expansion plans in the region.
Other investors in the Dubai-based fintech startup include MMK Capital, Soul Ventures, regional family offices and other angel investors.
Founded in 2021 by Chafic Idriss, Karam El Dik and Rayan Antonios, Twig is a bank-agnostic automated saving platform. Twig has received an Innovation Testing Licence (ITL) from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
The Digital Hotelier
Travel tech startup The Digital Hotelier reportedly secured a six-figure amount in a pre-seed round, led by Select Ventures Holding to expedite product development, fuel expansion, and grow team size.
The SaaS-based platform, which helps hotels generate direct bookings from higher margin guests, was founded in 2022 by Qutaiba Alali and Ali Fouad.
It essentially offers a software solution for tourists to book and pay for services at hotels such as room service, spas, food, and entertainment, among others, besides catering to hotel apartments and holiday homes offering short stays.