Author: Mahdeehassan

UAE-based fintech Gainz has closed a 7-figure USD pre-seed round, structured as a mix of equity and debt The round was led by Antler MENAP, Lithium Holdings, and Eleventh Invest Inc., with participation from a diverse network of regional high-net-worth investors. The funding reflects growing investor confidence in the founding team’s track record and in the $200B+ financing gap facing SMEs in the region. Founded in December 2024 by Shehab Mokhtar and Sherif Abdelaty, Gainz aims to democratise working capital financing by enabling individuals to invest in vetted SMEs through an AI-powered, Shariah-compliant crowdfunding platform. The new funding will support platform…

viAct, a Hong Kong-based AI company, has raised $7.3 million in a Series A round led by Ireland’s VentureWave Capital, with participation from Singtel Innov8 and Korean Investment Partners. The company plans to expand aggressively in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, to support its booming construction and energy sectors with AI-driven safety and productivity solutions. Founded in 2016, viAct serves over 200 contractors globally with its AI-powered platform for real-time risk detection, predictive analytics, and automated compliance. Its solution has helped companies prevent thousands of incidents while improving project timelines, operational efficiency, and profitability across sectors including construction, oil…

UAE-based tech startup Tarjama has closed a $15 million a Series A funding round, led by Global Ventures, with participation from Wamda Capital, TA Ventures, Phaze Capital, Golden Gate Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst. Founded in 2009 by Nour Al Hassan, Tarjama offers advanced language technology solutions across 50+ languages and 22 Arabic dialects, serving over 700 clients globally. The company recently launched Pronoia V2, a purpose-built Arabic-first LLM that outperforms GPT-4o and Cohere on Arabic tasks. The funding will be used to scale Arabic.AI, Tarjama’s proprietary agentic AI ecosystem built specifically for enterprise applications in Arabic-speaking markets. The company plans to expand its engineering…

Abu Dhabi-based EQIQ, a venture capital fund and venture builder focused on Iraq, is doubling its fund size from $15 million to $30 million to deepen its investments in Iraq’s digital economy. The fund targets greenfield and brownfield ventures across e-commerce, logistics, and fintech, aiming to create a synergistic ecosystem of tech-enabled businesses that provide millions of Iraqis with localised digital solutions. Founded by Mohamed Al-Hakim and Said Rahmani, EQIQ has already deployed $8.5 million across five startups, three of which it co-built with founding teams from its network. Having completed its first close in January 2023, EQIQ is now…

Returning to Lisbon, SBC Summit will present a reimagined agenda designed to better serve a global audience, with a powerful new focus on market diversity, technological innovation, and actionable, real-world learning. Building on the success of its Lisbon debut, SBC Summit will return to the Feira Internacional de Lisboa and MEO Arena on 16–18 September 2025. The event will welcome 30,000 attendees to a six-stage, industry-wide conference agenda spanning global and emerging markets, payments, affiliation, player protection, and new hands-on ‘Operator Academy’ workshops. Familiar to last year’s attendees and bigger than ever, the Super Stage will also return to the MEO Arena to spotlight headline sessions from the industry’s biggest names;…

SARsatX, a Saudi-based space technology startup specialising in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), has announced the successful closure of a $2.6 million seed funding round. The investment marks a key milestone for the Kingdom’s emerging NewSpace sector and reinforces its growing presence in the global space economy. The round was led by TONOMUS, a digital subsidiary of NEOM, with participation from Wa’ed Ventures (the venture capital arm of Aramco), Access Bridge Ventures, and KAUST Innovation Ventures. SARsatX previously received backing from Flat6Labs, a leading early-stage venture capital firm in the MENA region. Founded as a spin-off from the TAQADAM Startup Accelerator…

Ziadah, a Saudi-based e-commerce SaaS startup, has successfully closed its seed funding round from an undisclosed angel investor. The investment marks a significant step in the company’s mission to provide smart conversion and sales optimisation tools for online retailers. Founded in 2024 by entrepreneurs Ali Aldahnin and Mahmoud Omar, Ziadah enables online merchants to increase their Average Order Value (AOV) and drive revenue growth by analysing shopper behaviour and integrating directly with various e-commerce platforms. The platform targets users at every stage of the purchasing journey — from browsing products and adding items to the cart to completing the checkout…

As the global betting and iGaming industry descends on Malta this June, payments will take centre stage as part of SBC Summit Malta’s dedicated Payments Innovation track. The track, which takes place on Thursday, 12 June at the InterContinental Hotel, will unite payments executives, fintech specialists, and compliance leaders to explore the most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities in payment technology. With sessions on Open Banking, crypto investment, and the future of fraud prevention and KYC, this track equips professionals to navigate regulatory changes, adapt to disruptive technologies, and meet rising player expectations. Discussing the inclusion of the Payments Innovation track at SBC Summit Malta, SBC CEO and founder, Rasmus…

AUTONOMOUS A2Z secured AV approval in Singapore and proved global scalability by adapting to right-hand drive through K-City testing. Singapore, May 19, 2025 — AUTONOMOUS A2Z, South Korea’s leading autonomous driving technology firm led by CEO Ji-hyeong Han, announced today that it has successfully obtained the Milestone 1 (M1) Vehicle Safety Assessment approval from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA). This achievement marks AUTONOMOUS A2Z as the first Korean company authorized to operate autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public roads in Singapore under specific designated conditions. In Singapore, autonomous vehicles must pass rigorous Milestone 1 (M1) safety assessments administered by the Centre…

Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) today announced the debut of its latest premium hair dryers, the EH-NA9N and EH-NA7M. Seen as game-changers in hair care, these dryers are engineered with advanced features and Panasonic’s signature nanoe™ technology, ensuring salon-quality finish at home minus the dryness, frizz and dandruffs. Building on Panasonic’s unwavering commitment to innovation and Japan-quality craftmanship, the EH-NA9N and EH-NA7M are more than just hair dryers – they are sophisticated hair care tools designed to nourish and enhance hair’s natural beauty. At the heart of their performance is Panasonic’s groundbreaking nanoe™ technology, which generates ultra-fine, moisture-rich…