Funding activity in the Middle East was driven by three Saudi Arabian companies this week. Wadaie, a fintech startup, Golden Scent, a fragrance e-commerce platform, and YaSchools, an edtech startup, secured funding to scale operations and enhance their product offerings.
Saudi Arabia emerged as the top country in the Middle East and North Africa region in terms of venture capital funding during the first half of 2023, as per data platform MAGNiTT. It accounted for 42% of the capital deployed in the region, up from 31% in 2022, with VC firms deploying $446 million in the kingdom.
Meanwhile, media reports say the UAE-based hypermarket chain Lulu Group International is raising $2.72 billion to refinance debt ahead of a potential IPO.
Wadaie
Fintech startup Wadaie secured pre-seed funding of an undisclosed amount led by RZM Investments to enhance its product offering. Other investors include Bunat Ventures and Saudi angel investors.
Founded in 2022 by Abdullah Alandas, Rayan Altuwayjiri, and Abdulrahman Alhawas, Wadaie offers a platform that connects depositors with all banks in Saudi Arabia, allowing them to earn best possible returns on deposits without the need of opening new accounts with other banks.
It also enables banks to widen their client base and access diverse sources of liquidity without increasing operational or infrastructure costs.
The company is looking to widen the saving and investment product offerings, besides facilitating easier access.
Golden Scent
The ecommerce platform secured an undisclosed revenue-based investment from Tenami Capital, to support geographical expansion and enhance operational efficiencies.
Founded in 2014 by Malik Al Shehab and Ronny Froehlich, the company aims to utilize the capital toward improving its product offering.
The company has operations and warehouses in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and delivers to over 80 countries globally. It had raised a Series B round in 2019 led by Wamda Capital and Saudi Aramco's venture arm, Wa’ed. Prior to that, it raised a Series A round in 2017, which was backed by Wa’ed, Equitrust, Wamda Capital, and Raed Ventures.
YaSchools
The Saudi edtech startup secured $600,000 in seed funding from a group of angel investors to expand into the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) region, starting with Jordan.
Founded in 2021 by Mohamed Zohair, Ahmed Mahdy, and Yasser Nasr-Aldin, YaSchools is a platform to manage the educational ecosystem, acting as the facilitator between all stakeholders—schools, teachers, and students.
It also facilitates microlending solutions, offering payment plans for parents to cover educational expenses, including an Islamic-compliant line of credit that allows users to pay educational expenses in installments. It has 1,750 schools, 2,500 teachers, and more than 92,000 parents on its platform.
