Funding activity in the Gulf region during the first week of September was propelled by startups across fintech, Web3 and healthtech space.
UAE-based myZoi and Kuwait-based Kem raised early-stage capital, while GAM3S GG, a Web3 gaming platform, received seed cheque.
Meanwhile, UAE’s leading healthtech player TruDoc got acquired by its existing investor Pulsar Capital.
Startups in the Middle East and North Africa region raised $110mn across 26 deals in August, which is 73% lower compared to the corresponding month last year, but 6% higher than July, data compiled by Wamda show. It was led by Saudi Arabia, with $54 million raised across eight deals, followed by the UAE, with $44mn raised across nine deals.
Logistics, traveltech, healthtech and Web3 were the most funded sectors, contributing about 76% of the total funding received in August, as per the report.
Key deals in August included a $27mn Series A fundraise by Riyadh-based cloud solution provider Rewaa, and acquisition of Machinestalk, one of the largest IoT players in Saudi Arabia, by Saudi telecom giant stc.
MyZoi
Abu Dhabi-based fintech company myZoi raised $14 million from Standard Chartered Bank’s tech investment arm SC Ventures and venture capital investment company SBI Holdings to expand its presence in the UAE.
In fact, myZoi is a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank and was incubated through SC Ventures.
Founded in 2022 by Christian Buchholz and Syed Muhammad Ali, myZoi aims to promote financial inclusion and digital literacy across the country for the unbanked and underbanked.
It recently obtained two regulatory licenses from the Central Bank of the UAE- the Stored Value Facilities (SVF) and the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) Category II.
The fresh proceeds will be deployed for product offering after the fintech platform goes live later this year. It will aim to reduce the transaction cost of migrant remittances to less than 3%, in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals 2030, while providing corporates a digitised, safe and efficient way to process payroll.
GAM3S GG
UAE-based Web3 gaming platform GAM3S GG raised $2 million in seed funding from Mechanism Capital and Polygon, among others, to scale the business and enhance its superapp.
Founded in 2021 by Omar Ghanem and Daniel Stockhaus, GAM3S GG, earlier called Polkastarter Gaming, offers curated Web3 gaming content and has over 200 games listed across 15 chains and about 60,000 gamers.
Other investors include SkyVision Capital, Double Peak, Venly Ventures, LD Capital, Hyperithm, Snackclub, Emurgo Ventures, Eden Ventures, Mix Marvel Ventures, ROK Capital, 4SV, CommonWealth Capital, ArkStream Capital, TKX Capital, Compute Ventures, and MarketAcross, besides several angel investors in the Web3 gaming space.
The gaming superapp curates and creates content to spotlight top games and showcase reviews, quests, and news, among others. With the funding, the startup intends to build advanced features to eliminate barriers to entry for blockchain games, including directly playing Web3 games on the platform, and in-game progress tracking.
Kem
Kuwait-based fintech firm Kem raised $1mn in a pre-seed round from a group of investors led by Maqamees Holdings, to develop its app and expand its footprint across the Gulf region.
Founded in 2021 by Seth Sadeq, Zane Chichua and George Chichua, the app allows users to send one another money using a QR code, doing away with the need to generate payment links or use traditional accounts.
The funding will allow Kem to work on the next development phase and plan for its Saudi Arabia market launch.
Pulsar Capital x TruDoc
Private equity firm Pulsar Capital acquired a majority stake in UAE-based telehealth app TruDoc, a year after its initial investment, when it picked a minority stake in the firm.
The funding is aimed to facilitate enhancement of product offerings and propel growth across Africa, South Asia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Founded in 2011 by Raouf Khalil, TruDoc offers 24x7 access to licensed telemedicine for about one million paid subscribers in the UAE and two million worldwide. Its services include home care doctors, labs and diagnostics, e-pharmacy services, and personalised wellness programs.
With the acquisition, Vish Narain, Managing Partner of Pulsar Capita took over the role of Executive Chairman of TruDoc. Pulsar Capital focuses on alternative investments across diversified sectors in mid-market companies in India, South Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Its other investments include genomic bio bank Aniva, Ambrosia Foods, global supply chain management company Assiduus Global, and Athena SPAC.