Dubai Future District Fund-backed payments infrastructure provider Nymcard led the funding activity in the Middle East and North Africa region this week, raising growth capital from new and existing investors.
It was followed by PlaysOut, a UAE-based gametech platform, which raised a high-value seed round. Besides, the UAE-based fintech startup ClearGrid emerged from stealth after raising dual funding rounds led by notable venture capital funds in the region.
Egyptian pharma marketplace startup Grinta, the UAE-based tokenised gold platform ORO Labs, and Palestine-based analytics platform MENA Analytics were among the startups that secured funding.
Meanwhile, the UAE-based tech ecosystem company Yango Group has formed a corporate venture fund called Yango Ventures, with a target corpus size of $20 million. It aims to back early-stage startups across the MENA region and Pakistan, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, besides other high-growth areas. It will focus on investments from seed to Series B in the online-to-offline), B2B SaaS, and fintech sectors.
Payments infrastructure provider Nymcard raised $33 million in a Series B round led by US-based venture capital firm QED Investors to deepen its presence in its existing markets. Other investors in the round include Lunate, DFDF, Mashreq Bank, Knollwood, Reciprocal, FJ Labs, Endeavor, Shorooq Partners, and Oraseya Capital.
The round comes almost two years after Nymcard acquired buy-now-pay-later startup Spotti to expand its product offerings.
Founded in 2018 by Omar Onsi, Nymcard is a UAE-based card issuing platform that enables financial institutions to build virtual and plastic card programs for their customers. NymCard had raised $22.5 million in 2022 in a round led by DisruptAD, Reciprocal Ventures, and Shorooq Partners with participation from Chimera, DFDF, and Endeavor Catalyst.
ClearGrid
ClearGrid, a UAE-based fintech emerged from stealth after raising $10 million in a dual round, pre-seed and seed, to expand across the MENA region and beyond.
While the $3.5 million pre-seed round was co-led by Raed Ventures and Beco Capital, the seed round of $6.5 million was co-led by Nuwa Capital and Raed Ventures. Other institutional investors include Aramco's Waed Ventures, KBW Ventures, Sharaka, 9yards Capital, Protagonist, BYLD, Eirad Holdings, Endeavor Catalyst, and Wamda Capital.
Founded in 2023 by Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud, Mohammad Al Zaben, and Mohammad Al Khalili, ClearGrid offers an AI-powered debt collection resolution for lenders.
ClearGrid would utilize the capital to build cutting-edge collections systems leveraging AI and machine learning and develop a comprehensive SaaS platform for early risk detection and credit orchestration, and expand in the region.
ORO Labs
ORO Labs, a UAE-based tokenised gold platform, raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round, led by 468 Capital to expand its operations. The round also saw participation from Fasset and angel investors, among others.
Founded in 2024 by Usman Saleem, ORO enables users to seamlessly access, trade, and utilize gold-backed assets across financial markets. With the latest funding, ORO aims to expand its product offerings and deepen its integrations within both decentralized and traditional finance.
MENA Analytics
Palestine-based analytics platform MENA Analytics raised funding of an undisclosed sum from the Ibtikar Fund to fuel geographical expansion.
Founded in 2023 by Yousef Srouji, Obada Shtaya, Zayne Abudaka, and Mohammad Abu Qare, MENA Analytics allows enterprises to collect market insights and research through survey tools and data capture solutions. It plans to utilize the funding to expand into Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
PlaysOut
PlaysOut, a UAE-based gametech platform raised $7 million in seed funding from investors including OKX Ventures, KBW Ventures, and Pacific Century Group to expand its business. The funding round valued the startup at $70 million.
Founded in 2024 by Jassem Osseiran and Jimmie Jeremejev, PlaysOut assists developers in releasing mini-games on popular platforms such as Telegram, Discord, and YouTube.
The startup aims to utilize the fund to expand the mini-game ecosystem, establish strategic partnerships, and explore high-growth markets such as the US, MENA, and Asia.
Grinta
Eyptian pharma-marketplace startup Grinta raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Beltone Venture Capital and Raed Ventures, and acquired Citi Clinic, a primary healthcare service chain.
Founded in 2021 by Mohamed Azab, Yosra Badr, Ali Youssef, and Hamza Mohamed, Grinta allows pharmacies to access pharmaceuticals and medical products from multiple vendors. It also provides fulfillment, demand planning, and inventory financing services.
The acquisition of Citi Clinic will give it access to Grinta’s 150,000 patients and facilitate its pivot from a B2B marketplace into a hybrid direct patient care, and its planned expansion into East Africa. With the deal, Grinta has exited its B2B retail pharmaceutical distribution business in Egypt to focus entirely on the care sector.
