Funding activity in the Gulf region during the week was marked by a Series A fundraise by a Saudi Arabia-based logistics company RedBox, along with other deals, which included early-stage funding raised by UAE-based Zest Equity and Saudi AI startup Cycls.
Meanwhile, Middle East and North Africa startups posted a 64% decline in funding activity in September, as compared to August at $36 million across 36 deals and an 82% decline, compared to the same month last year, according to Wamda’s monthly investment report.
In the first three quarters of 2023, total investment stood at $1.8 billion, down 33% compared to 2.8 billion raised by startups in the corresponding period last year.
Besides, late-stage venture capital funding in the region grew by 20% year-on-year in the first six months of 2023, compared to a 49% contraction globally, according to a report by data company MAGNiTT. MENA startups raised $643 million in late-stage funding between January and June this year, with 85% of the deals exceeding $100 million.
RedBox has secured $7 million in a Series A funding round led by food delivery company Jahez, to scale up its network and infrastructure.
Founded by Thamer Altuwaiyan and Zun Phan in 2019, RedBox offers smart solutions for last-mile services. It operates a slew of smart shipping lockers that allow customers to collect their packages and shipments through the nearest smart locker available in Saudi Arabia. It has also expanded its footprint across more than 50 cities in Saudi Arabia.
The funding will allow RedBox to further expand its network of smart lockers within the country.
In May, RedBox raised $5 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by RAAF Holding Company and Mad'a Investment, with the participation of angel investors. It launched “RedBox Express" service earlier this year, which allows sending shipments across various cities in Saudi Arabia.
It raised $3 million in seed funding in February, which was led by Vision Ventures.
Wealth management startup Zest Equity has raised $3.8 million in a seed funding round led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) to support its geographical expansion to markets including North Africa, South Asia, and Turkey.
The round also saw participation from Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), and DASH Ventures.
Founded by Rawan Baddour and Zuhair Shamma in 2021, the UAE-based startup offers an end-to-end equity management solutions platform. It enables founders and venture capitalists to sell their secondary shares online.
The platform digitalizes transactions that help cut the costs and complexities involved in traditional private market transactions.
With the latest round of funding, Zest Equity has raised a total of $5.7 million so far. It had earlier raised pre-seed funding from DFDF, 500 Sanabil, Nuwa Capital, and a slew of regional angel investors, co-founders, and family offices.
Saudi Arabia-based artificial intelligence startup Cycls has raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round from angel investors to launch its new product and expand its footprint to the UAE.
Founded by Mohammed Alrujayi and Khalid Alrasheed in 2021, the startup Cycls offers AI-based chat services that can be integrated with services across various industries, including e-commerce, telecom, travel, and personal finance. It is set to launch a new chat chat-based generative AI tool named 'Saryah' using the funding.