Press release:

REACH, one of the world’s most prestigious real estate technology accelerators, is launching a second programme in the UAE to support exciting proptech start-ups and the $1.3 trillion Middle East real estate pipeline. The programme provides each start-up with funding, world-class mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and subject matter experts, access to local and global networking, and exposure to investor communities.

After the success of the inaugural REACH Middle East cohort, including achieving new product launches, the attraction of robust investment rounds and exponential customer growth, REACH Middle East – the local arm of the global initiative – will run its next programme from November 2026 to August 2027. Applications are now open, with innovative businesses solving real-world property challenges invited to participate. The closing date for applications is 30 August, 2026.

Aligned with the agendas of the region

The programme prioritises national and Emirate-led initiatives, including the UAE Digital Economy Strategy, the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) and the Dubai Real Estate Strategy 2033.

It is endorsed by the Dubai Land Department and managed by Second Century Ventures, the world’s most active global real estate technology fund. Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Campus (Dtec) will once again provide physical space and support to new startups, as part of its commitment to Dubai’s technology ecosystem. Dubai Future District Fund will also support the initiative in line with its goals to accelerate the growth of real estate innovation.

Siddiq Farid, Managing Director of REACH Middle East, said: “The regional real estate market continues to defy expectations; where other markets would have cowered in a corner, the bravery and determination of people and businesses across the region continues to shine through. There are still challenges ahead but confidence is rapidly returning and I believe this confirms that Dubai has the most resilient real estate market in the world.

Now, we are looking for the next wave of proptech talent – the businesses that meet the needs of the market and provide solutions that support real estate to thrive. We look forward to receiving some exciting applications.”

REACH Middle East’s first cohort included seven start-ups, who will graduate from the programme in August.

To learn more about the second cohort and how to participate, click here.

Press release:

Anghami Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGH) ("Anghami" or the "Company") today confirmed receipt of a preliminary, non-binding proposal (the "Proposal") from OSN Streaming Limited ("OSN"), the Company's controlling shareholder, to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares (the "Ordinary Shares") of the Company not already owned by OSN in a going-private transaction.

OSN's proposed purchase price is $3.39 in cash per Ordinary Share (the "Offer Price"). OSN currently owns approximately 67% of the Company's issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares. OSN has indicated that it expects to fund the acquisition with equity or other financing from its shareholders and their affiliates and that the acquisition will not be subject to a financing condition. A copy of the proposal letter from OSN is available as an exhibit to OSN's statement of beneficial ownership on Schedule 13D/A as publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In connection with receipt of the Proposal, the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") has appointed three new directors: Nathan Scott Fine, Guergui Saykov Stoyanov and Chiara Marcati. The Board has determined that each of the foregoing directors is independent under the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, has no material relationship with OSN or interest in the Proposal, and is not an employee, affiliate or nominee of OSN.

Mr. Fine is an ex-officio (non-voting) Director and Vice Chairman of Rafael Holdings, Inc. Previously, Mr. Fine served as Chief Executive Officer of Cyclo Therapeutics, LLC (formerly Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc., which since March 2025 has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rafael Holdings, Inc.). Mr. Fine has been involved in investment banking for over 35 years, working on a multitude of debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic advisory work, and corporate restructurings. Since 2014, he has served on the Board of Kenon Holdings, Inc., where he serves as Chair of its Compensation Committee and is a member of its Audit Committee. He previously served as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Restructuring Committee of Pacific Drilling SA from 2017 to 2018 and as a Director of Central European Distribution Corporation from 1996 until 2014. Mr. Fine attended New Hampshire College.

Mr. Stoyanov is the Founder and CEO of StoGeo, a global advisory firm focused on business strategy and next-generation leadership, a position he has held since 2008. Prior to his current role, Mr. Stoyanov served as Partner and Head of Markets at Grant Thornton UAE, and previously held senior positions at EY and PwC in the Middle East, with over 25 years of experience in management consulting, corporate governance, and risk management. Mr. Stoyanov is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Financial Consultant. He holds a Master of Business Administration from London Business School and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in International Business Management and Psychology from the University of Maryland.

Ms. Marcati serves as Chief Advisory and Business Officer at AI71, a UAE-headquartered company building agentic, sovereign-grade AI platforms, where she leads strategy, ecosystem partnerships, and public-sector advisory. Previously, she was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where she led the QuantumBlack AI practice across EMEA and built a 100+ person AI hub delivering applied AI solutions at scale. Ms. Marcati is a frequent speaker on AI governance and transformation, with keynote appearances at global forums including LEAP and the AI Global Summit. She holds degrees in Engineering and Business from the University of Pisa, HEC Paris, and NYU Stern.

In response to the Proposal, the Board has formed a special committee (the "Special Committee") composed solely of the three newly appointed independent and disinterested directors, Nathan Scott Fine (Chairman), Guergui Saykov Stoyanov and Chiara Marcati, to review, evaluate and negotiate the Proposal and any potential strategic alternatives and to determine the course of action that is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders that are not affiliated with OSN. The Special Committee has been authorised to exercise all lawfully delegable powers of the Board in connection with the Proposal, including the authority to retain independent legal and financial advisors to assist it in its review and deliberations.

The Special Committee has full authority to evaluate, negotiate and, if it determines appropriate, reject the Proposal. The Company will not approve or enter any transaction with OSN without the Special Committee's prior favourable recommendation. Any such transaction would also remain subject to final approval of the Board and to any required approval of the Company's shareholders.  The Special Committee is under no obligation to recommend or approve any transaction, and the Company may continue as a publicly listed company.

There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made or accepted, that any agreement will be executed, or that the proposed transaction or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not intend to disclose further developments regarding this matter unless and until further disclosure is determined to be appropriate or necessary. No action is required by Anghami shareholders at this time.

Press release:

Propeller, the venture capital firm focused on AI technology and infrastructure, announced the successful conclusion of Kernel Camp, its inaugural deep-tech residency programme based in Silicon Valley. 

Five startups from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt completed an intensive eight-week residency in the Bay Area, designed to accelerate company building, receive mentorship from leaders at the frontier of artificial intelligence development, and connect with global investors.

The five Kernel Camp 2026 startups, selected from the top 3% of applicants, represent the frontier of AI infrastructure, developer tooling, and cybersecurity:

OORB (Tunisia): A robotics observability platform that captures every robot run, scores reliability, and identifies what changed when behaviour breaks. 

​Techbible (Morocco): An AI Stack Manager for modern companies that maps every SaaS tool and AI agent, tracks spend, usage, and renewals, and shows you what software is actually doing the work.

FirstFlow (Jordan): The activation layer for AI agents, an in-chat onboarding platform that guides users from first message to full adoption through structured clarification widgets embedded directly in the agent’s chat interface.

Nexguards (Egypt): AI-powered social engineering platform, providing personalised cyber attack simulation and awareness training for enterprises.

Flowbrave (Morocco): Intelligent operations platform that bridges the Execution Gap, turning static processes into dynamic, AI-guided workflows for flawless performance.

Throughout the residency, founders engaged directly with operators, executives, and investors shaping the future of AI and software through weekly mentorship dinners featuring leaders from Airbnb, Meta, OpenAI, JP Morgan, Cartesia, Rho, Lux Capital, Mozilla Ventures, Plug and Play, and Mentors Fund. 

The cohort also joined a dedicated angel investor happy hour event hosted at Silicon Valley Bank's offices on Sand Hill Road, bringing together a group of Bay Area angels for direct access to the startups.

The cohort also participated in a series of site visits to leading Silicon Valley technology companies, offering firsthand exposure to the teams, cultures, and operating environments behind some of the world's most influential AI and software businesses.

Zaid Farekh, Founder & Managing Partner at Propeller, said, "We believe MENA produces founders capable of building globally significant companies, but talent alone isn't enough. Kernel Camp is designed to immerse founders in the networks, operating culture, and technical communities that have historically accelerated the world's most ambitious startups.”

Hani Azzam, Partner at Propeller, added: “The question was never whether MENA founders could compete globally. Kernel Camp was about giving them the environment to prove it, and this cohort did exactly that.”

The final showcase took place on May 30th and featured live startup pitches, followed by a panel exploring the growing impact of MENA talent within Silicon Valley startups. A panel discussion exploring the growing impact of MENA talent within Silicon Valley startups with Ahmed Rashad (Perle AI) and Ahmad Saeddedin (Corgea, YC S23) and a fireside chat with Waseem Alshikh, CTO and Co-Founder of Writer. 

Building on the momentum of its first cohort, Propeller is already preparing the next edition of Kernel Camp, with plans to continue bringing exceptional founders from the MENA region into the heart of Silicon Valley's AI and technology ecosystem. 

Press release:

BrainsMingle.com, an AI-driven, video-first professional network designed to prioritise authentic human connection, today announced a $400,000 strategic seed investment from BasharSoft Group. As Egypt's and MENA’s leading human capital technology institution, BasharSoft’s investment marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of professional infrastructure for experts, communities, and ambitious professionals worldwide.

This partnership represents BasharSoft’s first strategic investment since its acquisition of iCareer last year. BasharSoft Group, which serves over 9 million users through its flagship platforms WUZZUF and Forasna, as well as iCareer and Recruitera, is betting on BrainsMingle to lead the next generation of professional engagement and knowledge-sharing technologies.

Globally, ambitious professionals carry the same invisible burden. On one side, an expert runs sessions on Zoom, manages bookings through Calendly, collects payments through a separate tool, keeps their community alive on Skool or Circle, and builds their presence on LinkedIn. Five tools, five logins, five broken experiences stitched together into something that was never designed to work as one. On the other, a professional hungry to grow is left scrolling through noise, sitting through generic webinars, and searching across platforms for the right expert, the right community, and the real conversations that could actually move their career forward. The problem is not a lack of talent or ambition. It is a lack of infrastructure. 

BrainsMingle was built to solve this, a professional home where experts deliver live sessions, manage bookings and payments, and build thriving communities, while ambitious professionals discover world-class expertise, engage with mentors across the globe, and connect face-to-face with peers who are worth their time. All in one place. It is not a tool. It is not a feed. It is a home.

BrainsMingle has already attracted professionals and communities from more than 90 countries. What works for one expert works for an entire organisation. Organisations, educational institutions, accelerators, universities, and enterprises use the platform as a branded internal hub for communication, learning, mentorship, networking, and community engagement. A private hub of their own — fully branded and fully under their control — where members gather instead of scattering across disconnected tools. Inside it, an organisation runs its communication and engagement, connects members through advanced automated speed networking, hosts office hours and 1:1 mentorship, and replaces the traditional learning management system with a modern one. The same home that helps a single expert build an audience lets a global institution bring its students, staff, and alumni together under one roof — its own.

Belal Amin, Co-Founder and CEO of BrainsMingle, said: "We built BrainsMingle around one belief: the most valuable professional moments happen between people, not between people and content. The world does not need another feed to scroll or another profile to maintain. It needs a home, a single place where an ambitious professional can show up, share what they know, and build a community around it. BrainsMingle was never built for one country or one region. It was built for every professional on the planet who has real expertise to share and no single place worthy of it. BasharSoft's investment is a powerful validation of that vision and a commitment to building it the right way."

Ameer Sherif, Executive Chairman of BasharSoft, added, "For fifteen years, BasharSoft has connected talent to opportunity. We identified a significant gap in how knowledge and experience are shared online. BrainsMingle has built the technology necessary to fill this gap, replacing multiple global tools with a single, sophisticated network that resonates with our mission to empower 50 million people in their careers by 2030."

This investment fuels BrainsMingle's mission to unite millions of minds in a single, connected professional network spanning technology, entrepreneurship, creative industries, and beyond. BrainsMingle is becoming the home for the next billion breakthroughs, the place where the conversations, communities, and connections that the world's professionals deserve finally have a home. A home that reshapes how careers are built, knowledge transferred, and professionals rise.

Press release:

1001, a GCC- and London-based company building sovereign AI for critical infrastructure, today announced a $30 million Series A led by Lux Capital. PIF-owned Sanabil Investments, 9Yards and Hanabi joined the round, and existing backers General Catalyst, CIV and Stanford AI researcher Chris Ré all increased their commitments. A number of regional and global angel investors also backed the firm, including Karim Atiyeh (Co-founder & CTO, Ramp), Kareem Amin (Co-founder & CEO, Clay), Russell Kaplan (President, Cognition), Shayan Shafii, Daniel Garber and Junaid Hussain. 

The round backs a clear conviction: the Middle East is no longer just a customer for technology built elsewhere, but where applied AI is proven in the real world. The bigger bet behind it is that sovereignty in the next decade will depend on whether countries can build, operate and govern their own AI in the sectors that matter most, not just buy it from abroad.

“The GCC runs some of the world's most important infrastructure, managing a significant share of global oil flows, container traffic and international aviation,” said Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and CEO of 1001. "Business leaders here don't just want pilots. They want sovereign systems that deliver measurable results and make thousands of real-time decisions they can trust. This is the work we've set out to do, and this round lets us go deeper and bring the best local and global talent to it.” 

Founded in 2025 by Abu-Ghazaleh, 1001 sits above the systems an operator already runs and builds a live working model of the operation itself: every asset, process, dependency and constraint. Where operators today make thousands of high-stakes decisions under pressure, with no unified or intelligent system to make them consistently and at scale, 1001 does more than show what is happening. It identifies what is about to go wrong and what to do about it, recommending or executing the best action earlier, faster and more intelligently than was ever possible before. The systems are built, owned and governed locally, so clients retain full control of infrastructure they cannot afford to have switched off.

1001's systems apply to any high-value operational problem where better data and intelligence can improve decisions across the full range of physical and critical infrastructure, including aviation, ports and logistics, energy, industrials and manufacturing. McKinsey estimates broader AI adoption could add up to $150 billion to GCC economies, about 9% of combined GDP, with critical infrastructure among the highest-value opportunities.

"Bilal and the 1001 team are exactly the kind of founders we take pride in backing: mission-driven, technically world-class, and building in one of the most consequential environments anywhere. They are proving that frontier AI for critical infrastructure can be built, owned and governed locally, rather than imported from abroad. We are especially proud to lead this round and to partner with 1001 as it helps the GCC build not just AI, but the capability to run its most important systems," said Deena Shakir, Partner at Lux Capital.

“GCC economies are investing at unprecedented scale in data, compute and infrastructure, and the focus now is on building local capability to operate these assets with trusted AI," said a spokesperson from Sanabil Investments. "We believe 1001 is well positioned to become a key sovereign AI partner for institutions across all critical infrastructure."

The new capital will scale 1001's team, especially engineering, and build out its commercial and go-to-market presence across key GCC markets. The company already draws top technical talent from leading global institutions, including Yale, Stanford and Carnegie Mellon. 

1001 has previously been backed by prominent angel investors including Amjad Masad (Replit), Amira Sajwani (DAMAC), Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud (RAED Ventures), and Hisham Al-Falih (Lean Technologies).

Press release:

Beltone Venture Capital (BVC), a subsidiary of Beltone Holding, is doubling down on two of Egypt's most compelling consumer success stories: a direct-to-consumer digital-led home furnishing brand ariika and healthy F&B pioneer, Lychee, as both companies prepare to significantly deepen their footprint in Saudi Arabia with a combined five new stores opening in Riyadh.

The move signals a decisive new chapter in BVC's strategy: not merely writing cheques but actively building homegrown Egyptian brands into becoming dominant regional players.

Ali Mokhtar, CEO of Beltone Venture Capital: "ariika and Lychee represent exactly what we look for: homegrown Egyptian brands with proven profitability, exceptional leadership, and the ambition to redefine their categories across the region. We are long-term partners in building the next generation of MENA consumer powerhouses. With a combined five new stores opening in Riyadh, this is just the beginning."

Khaled Attallah, CEO and Co-Founder of ariika: "Saudi Arabia has always been central to our regional vision. Opening two stores in Riyadh is not just an expansion, it is a statement. We have built a brand that resonates deeply with consumers who value design, quality, and an exceptional experience, and we are confident that ariika will find its home in the Saudi market just as it has across Egypt and Iraq. This is the next chapter, and we are only getting started."

Mohamed Assy, Founder and CEO of Lychee: "We have been building this moment for years. Saudi Arabia is not just another market for us; it is the foundation of our regional ambition. We spent considerable time understanding the Saudi consumer deeply – their rhythms, their tastes, and their expectations – before committing to this expansion. Opening three stores in Riyadh is our declaration that Lychee belongs in this market, and we intend to lead the healthy F&B space here just as we have done in Egypt."

Retail investors are becoming a larger growth engine

Institutional investors continue to dominate the GCC market, accounting for 93% of regional assets under management. However, retail investment is expanding at a much faster pace.

Retail AuM grew 14% in 2025, compared with 9% for institutional assets, suggesting individual investors are gradually playing a larger role in regional capital markets.

Saudi Arabia remains the region's largest retail investment market, leading both the GCC and the wider Middle East in retail mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The UAE and Kuwait follow, while the Kingdom's General Organization for Social Insurance Public Pension Agency (GOSI-PPA) remains the region's largest pension fund. Kuwait Investment Authority continues to hold the largest pool of externally managed sovereign wealth assets in the GCC.

Although retail assets still represent only around 7% of total AuM, their faster growth reflects a broader shift as individual investors become an increasingly important source of capital for the region's financial markets.

Market growth alone is no longer enough

The report argues that the industry's biggest challenge is no longer growing assets but sustaining profitability.

Globally, assets under management reached $147 trillion in 2025, up 11% from the previous year. However, more than 80% of revenue growth was driven by rising financial markets rather than fresh client inflows. At the same time, fee compression and mounting technology investment are making it harder for firms to translate higher assets into stronger earnings.

The result is a more competitive landscape where attracting new capital matters more than simply benefiting from favourable market performance. Firms capable of consistently generating net inflows are increasingly separating themselves from the rest of the industry.

Distribution is becoming the industry's competitive edge

One of the report's central conclusions is that distribution is overtaking investment performance as the industry's primary competitive advantage.

As investment products become increasingly standardised, firms are competing less on what they manufacture and more on how effectively they reach investors. Control of distribution channels, whether through banks, wealth advisers, digital investment platforms or institutional partnerships, is becoming the defining factor in capturing new assets.

For GCC asset managers, this shift is particularly significant. The region's expanding retail investor base, combined with rapidly developing digital financial infrastructure, creates an opportunity for firms that invest early in scalable distribution capabilities.

As Lukasz Rey, Managing Director and Partner and Middle East Head of Financial Institutions at BCG, notes, firms that strengthen both their distribution capabilities and technological infrastructure will be best positioned to navigate an increasingly competitive market.

AI is changing the economics of asset management

Artificial intelligence is expected to reshape the industry's operating model rather than simply improve efficiency.

BCG estimates AI could reduce operating costs by 25% to 35% over the next three to five years while expanding investment research coverage by two to five times and allowing relationship managers to serve significantly more clients through personalised advice and automation.

The report argues that AI enables firms to scale without proportionally increasing headcount, fundamentally changing the economics of growth. Yet despite its potential, most asset managers remain in the early stages of adoption, focusing on pilot projects instead of redesigning their organisations around AI-enabled workflows.

For GCC firms, this presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional operating models by embedding AI into core investment, client servicing and operational functions from the outset.

Tokenisation could reshape financial markets

Alongside AI, tokenisation is emerging as another structural force with the potential to redefine the industry.

BCG projects the value of tokenised real-world assets could reach $14 trillion by 2030 before expanding to $55 trillion by 2035, opening new channels for ownership, distribution and product development.

For financial centres across the GCC, where regulators have actively embraced digital assets and financial innovation, tokenisation could accelerate the development of new investment products while lowering barriers to entry for both investors and asset managers.

A new phase for the Gulf's investment industry

The GCC's asset management industry enters this next chapter from a position of strength, supported by deep pools of institutional capital, growing retail participation and some of the world's largest sovereign investors. But scale alone will no longer guarantee success.

As investment products become increasingly commoditised and technology reshapes every stage of the value chain, firms will need to compete on distribution, operational efficiency and personalised client experiences rather than assets alone. Those that successfully integrate AI into their operating models while building stronger investor networks will be best positioned to capture the industry's next wave of growth.

For the Gulf, the challenge is shifting from benefiting from favourable market conditions to building an asset management ecosystem capable of competing on a global stage. If BCG's outlook proves accurate, the region's next growth story will be defined not by how much capital it manages, but by how intelligently it manages it.

Press release:

Lean Technologies and Ziina have launched the UAE's first One-Tap Pay by Bank experience under the Open Finance framework, marking a significant step in the maturation of account-to-account payments in the region.

Built on Lean's Deposits solution, the capability enables Ziina users to securely connect their bank account once and make future wallet top-ups with a single tap – no re-entry of credentials, no redirect to a bank portal.

The launch demonstrates that Pay by Bank in the UAE has moved beyond one-time transactions. With the underlying infrastructure in place and regulation live, the focus now shifts to building the recurring, low-friction experiences that drive everyday usage.

Developed in partnership with Lean, the capability combines Ziina's consumer payment experience with Lean's Open Finance infrastructure, demonstrating how account-to-account payments can support increasingly seamless digital payment journeys.

Omar Hamada, VP of Sales at Lean, said, "Pay by Bank has been live in the UAE for some time, but until now, it has only been available as single instant payments. Working with Ziina, we've shown that the infrastructure is capable of supporting recurring, low-effort payment experiences, the kind that make a payment method genuinely part of how people pay every day. That is the direction the market is heading, and this is the first example of it.”

Talal Toukan, Co-Founder and Head of Engineering at Ziina, said, "People expect financial products to be as simple and intuitive as the best consumer technology they use every day. Funding your wallet is one of the most common actions within Ziina, so making that experience faster and more seamless was a natural next step for us. Working with Lean, we've been able to reduce friction in a way that makes managing and moving money feel more effortless for our users." 

The announcement was made at Pay by Bank: The Default Way to Pay, Lean's flagship industry event, which brought together more than 150 leaders from across banking, fintech, commerce, and regulation to discuss the future of account-to-account payments in the UAE and wider region.

Press release:

LAB7, the venture-building arm of Aramco, has backed CONIX.AI, a Saudi-based technology startup developing AI-powered architectural design and regulatory compliance solutions. Through this partnership, LAB7’s award-winning B2Code engine will be integrated into CONIX.AI’s regulatory compliance platform, E-Comply, will help strengthen its ability to deliver end-to-end solutions for engineering offices, developers, and government entities. 

CONIX.AI offers an AI-powered engineering design platform that incorporates regulatory and engineering requirements to deliver architectural plans in minutes. Its compliance software automatically reviews documents against regulatory requirements, generating code-compliant designs while reducing the risk of costly revisions. In addition, CONIX.AI supports complex urban development projects by digitising and streamlining the building permit and approval processes.

B2Code, a proprietary technology developed by LAB7 and licensed to CONIX.AI, will complement CONIX.AI’s E-Comply platform. Recognised by the prestigious Edison Awards for Best New Product, B2Code automates compliance reporting, providing an efficient and accurate solution for the construction industry. Its advanced engine is designed to validate floor plans directly against regulatory requirements, helping ensure compliance from the earliest stages of design.

The integration of B2Code into E-Comply will enable more comprehensive compliance assessments that cover both national building codes and local municipal requirements. By automating critical validation processes and identifying potential issues earlier in the design cycle, the combined solution is expected to offer significant value to regulators and engineering offices alike.

The collaboration reflects the growing momentum of the Kingdom’s innovation ecosystem and highlights the value of combining tech innovation with market-ready applications. By bringing together advanced artificial intelligence, automated compliance validation, and practical industry workflows, the partnership aims to address key challenges in the construction and urban development sectors while supporting the Kingdom’s broader digital transformation objectives.

As a leading deep-tech venture builder, LAB7 plays a pivotal role in accelerating the commercialisation of breakthrough technologies. The successful development of B2Code demonstrates LAB7’s ability to transform innovative concepts into impactful solutions that solve real-world problems through collaboration with startups, industry partners, and technology innovators.

Press release:

DUBAI, UAE – AXON successfully concluded its exclusive Investor Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, bringing together a distinguished group of investors, decision-makers, and leaders from the fintech and investment sectors across the Kingdom and the wider region to discuss the future of financial infrastructure connecting traditional finance with the digital economy.

The event was attended by representatives from some of Saudi Arabia's leading investment firms and financial institutions, including organizations connected to the Kingdom's national investment ecosystem and prominent venture capital funds such as the Ministry of Investment, Raed Ventures, Sadu Capital, and Takamol Ventures, alongside representatives from other investment firms, funds, and financial technology companies. More than 50 influential figures from Saudi Arabia's investment, entrepreneurship, and fintech communities participated in the summit.

Held under the theme "Connecting Traditional Finance with the Digital Economy: The Future of Financial Infrastructure in the GCC," the summit showcased AXON's vision of building a unified financial orchestration layer that seamlessly connects banks, payment networks, stablecoins, and digital asset infrastructure within a fully integrated ecosystem designed to meet the highest standards of regulatory compliance. 

During the event, the AXON team presented an overview of the company's flagship products, including AXON Transfer and AXON Pay, which are designed to simplify and accelerate cross-border payments and settlements. The platform aims to reduce settlement times for international transfers and payments from several days to as little as one hour. The company also presented its product roadmap and expansion plans across Saudi Arabia as well as regional and global markets.

The summit concluded with the signing of a strategic investment agreement between AXON and Maarej Real Estate, under which Maarej committed an investment of approximately SAR 4 million (approximately $1 million) in the company. The investment reflects growing confidence in AXON's vision and its role in developing the next generation of financial infrastructure across the region.

Commenting on the occasion, Malek Alzubi, Co-Founder and CEO of AXON, said:

"We are witnessing a fundamental transformation in the way value moves across the global economy. Our mission at AXON is to build the infrastructure that enables institutions to move seamlessly between traditional and digital financial systems within a comprehensive regulatory framework. Maarej's investment marks an important milestone in our journey and reinforces the market's confidence in the growth opportunities we are creating."

For his part, Tamim Al-Juhani, Chairman of Maarej Real Estate, said that the investment reflects the company's strong belief in AXON's significant potential and its ability to play a pivotal role in supporting the region's financial transformation. He added that the investment aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and contributes to strengthening the Kingdom's position as a global hub for financial innovation. The agreement also marks the beginning of a strategic partnership between the two companies to support AXON's growth and expand its presence in the Saudi market.

AXON continues to advance its regulatory approvals while expanding strategic partnerships with leading global financial and technology institutions. The company's long-term vision is to establish a unified financial layer connecting traditional banking systems with modern digital infrastructure, helping accelerate cross-border trade and payments across the region and beyond.

Press release:

Revora, formerly known as MyAlice, is purpose-built for the way e-commerce should run: AI agents that close the sale in conversation, built on a structured product catalog designed for how customers will discover and buy as commerce shifts toward AI

Revora today announced their $2M  seed round and a rebrand from MyAlice, marking a shift from a conversational commerce tool to an AI operating platform for e-commerce merchants. The bet is simple: the merchants who win the next decade won't be the ones with the most tools but the ones who replaced them with a smarter, integrated AI layer.

The round was co-led by i2i Ventures & Oraseya Capital, with participation from Anchorless Bangladesh, Conjunction Capital, F6 Ventures, Hi2 Global, Orbit Startups, and strategic angels, including Salman Butt (co-founder, Salla) and operators from Bolt, Mubadala & EY.

What Revora is building

Revora's AI agents start where every merchant feels the most pain: closing the sale. These agents recommend products, recover carts and take payment inside the conversation, whether that's on WhatsApp, Instagram or the brand's own site, in the customer's own dialect. Brands using Revora’s AI-led sales and campaigns see a 15-20% revenue increase, showcasing the tangible value of the product.

Revora also turns every merchant's product catalogue into clean, structured data. That catalogue is the long-term bet. As commerce shifts toward AI-powered search and shopping agents globally, that same structured data is what allows a merchant's products to be found, recommended and bought. Every merchant that joins Revora adds to a commerce graph that no messaging vendor, helpdesk or model provider can replicate.

AI is changing how people buy, not just how companies sell. We’re building Revora on one bet: that the businesses winning the next decade are the ones an AI can understand, represent, and sell for, added Shuvo Rahman, co-founder, Revora

The bet is already paying off

Revora is already live in 21+ countries and the company’s revenue grew 10x since the company focused on Saudi Arabia and the GCC in late 2024, and the team has plans to deepen their presence in the region with this latest funding round.

The signal that matters most to us isn’t the funding. It’s that merchants using Revora are generating real revenue from it. 'That's the metric we’re obsessed with, and the one we are building for,' added Daniyal Baig, co-founder, Revora

Where the round goes

The round proceeds go towards growth in Saudi Arabia primarily, Revora’s largest and fastest-growing market, and into the product as the company builds for a future where more buying runs through AI.

The founders

Revora was co-founded by Shuvo Rahman and Daniyal Baig. Daniyal spent over 12 years in the MENA region in leadership roles across media and fintech, most recently as COO of Forbes Middle East. In parallel, he built and ran an inventory management product for small merchants across the region, a first-hand lesson in the operational gaps that still plague independent commerce today.

Shuvo brings the product and technical depth. Revora is his second startup, following a successful exit from his agritech venture iFarmer, where he helped build a data and technology platform that connects smallholder farmers with financing, advisory services, and market access.

Together they bring a rare combination of operator experience, founder scars and repeat conviction to a market most outsiders are still trying to figure out. They are building a company that is emerging-market native, built to address the unique needs of the region.

Investor statements

"We are thrilled to back the team at Revora. They have built a product that cuts through the AI noise with tangible value today & real scale potential. A product built from emerging markets for the region &  traction that speaks for itself. Exactly the kind of bet we back at i2i Ventures – Kalsoom Lakhani, Co-founder/General Partner, i2i Ventures

“Revora is precisely what talent in Bangladesh and Pakistan looks like when backed with conviction, a team that has consistently built ahead of the curve and generated real revenue from agentic AI in the Middle East. We backed Shuvo and team from the very beginning and are proud to double down as they scale” — Rahat Ahmed, General Partner, Anchorless Bangladesh

“E-commerce is and will remain an early adopter of AI. We are proud to back Revora in its mission to help merchants succeed by providing solutions that improve operational, and customer outcomes. - Omar Khan, Partner, Oraseya Capital 

Press release:

As the challenges of climate change, water stress, and rising agricultural production costs continue to grow, precision technologies are emerging as a strategic lever to strengthen the productivity and resilience of farms.

In this context, 216 Capital announces its entry into the capital of RoboCare, a Tunisian startup specialising in precision agriculture and artificial intelligence applied to the agricultural sector, through a six-figure investment.

This deal aims to support RoboCare's next growth phase and its expansion into African and Middle Eastern markets.

A Technology for Higher-Performing and Sustainable Agriculture

Founded in Sfax, RoboCare develops an agricultural management platform that helps farmers make better decisions through the intelligent use of multiple data sources: satellite imagery, drone data, IoT sensors, weather data, and field expertise.

Through its AI models, the solution enables early detection of crop diseases and stress, optimises resource usage, and improves farm performance. Field results are significant:

• Up to 35% water savings
• Up to 25% reduction in agricultural inputs
• Up to 20% yield increase

By combining artificial intelligence, agronomy, and data analysis, RoboCare enables farmers to improve productivity while reducing their environmental impact.

Expertise Built for MENA Agricultural Realities

One of RoboCare's key differentiators is its specialised approach to crops that are strategic for the region, particularly olive trees, cereals, and processing tomatoes.

Unlike generalist agricultural platforms, RoboCare builds its models from local data to address the specific soil and climate conditions found in North Africa and the Middle East. This approach allows the startup to deliver agronomic recommendations precisely tailored to the needs of regional farmers and agribusiness players.

RoboCare already monitors several thousand hectares under intelligent surveillance and has generated thousands of agronomic alerts, enabling operators to respond faster and more effectively.

The startup has also established partnerships with several institutional players and is gaining growing visibility within international AgriTech ecosystems.

An Investment to Accelerate Regional Expansion

With this funding, RoboCare plans to accelerate its development along three priority axes:

• Commercial expansion into new markets in Africa and the Middle East
• Strengthening its commercial teams to accelerate adoption of its solution among major agribusiness players
• Continuous improvement of its AI models to address new agricultural contexts

“For 216 Capital, this investment fully aligns with its strategy of supporting high-potential tech startups capable of delivering concrete answers to the continent's major economic, social, and environmental challenges," states Hassen Arfaoui, Principal at 216 Capital.

As agriculture represents a key sector for food security and economic growth across many African and MENA countries, RoboCare aims to become one of the leading players in agricultural digital transformation at the regional scale.

Press release:

Keiretsu Forum MENA, the regional chapter of Keiretsu Forum, the world's largest angel investor network founded in Silicon Valley, California, has entered into a strategic partnership with FinBursa to strengthen its startup advisory, investor engagement, and deal management capabilities. The partnership brings together Keiretsu Forum’s high-conviction deal curation and regional investor network with FinBursa’s intelligent deal infrastructure to create a more efficient and transparent investment experience across private markets.

Keiretsu operates the region’s leading startup investment and advisory ecosystem, connecting high-potential startups with accredited angel investors, family offices, venture capital firms, corporate investors, and institutional investors.

Keiretsu continues to expand its regional footprint through strategic initiatives across North Africa and the GCC, including entrepreneurship programs in Morocco, investor engagement activities in Qatar, and expansion efforts in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Through its investor network, advisory services, and ecosystem partnerships, Keiretsu Forum supports the development of investment-ready startups, connecting them to the capital and networks needed to scale.

To match that standard operationally, Keiretsu went live with FinBursa across its entire workflow. The platform replaces fragmented tools with a single, connected environment: pipeline intake, deal staging, NDA-protected virtual data rooms, investment CRM, investor-facing portals, and fundraising management — all powered by FinBursa’s agentic operating intelligence across every module. As the global deal platform for private markets, FinBursa brings institutional-grade infrastructure to advisory networks wherever they operate.

“The quality of our deal flow has always been our signature. FinBursa gives us the backbone to deliver that quality at every touchpoint — from a startup entering our pipeline to an investor committing. It is exactly what our advisory practice needed,” said Mahmood Jassim, Board Member of Keiretsu Forum MENA.

“Keiretsu Forum is the kind of organisation FinBursa was built for — where the investor experience is the product. Seeing them run their full deal lifecycle on our platform, with AI across every stage, strongly validates where private markets infrastructure is heading,” said Ismail Badereldine, CEO of FinBursa.

The partnership signals where MENA’s private markets are heading advisory firms replacing disconnected tools with AI-native infrastructure built to operate at scale.

About Keiretsu Forum MENA

Keiretsu Forum MENA is the regional chapter of the world’s largest angel investor network, connecting accredited investors, family offices, venture capital firms, corporate investors, and institutional investors with high-potential startups across the Middle East and North Africa. Through startup advisory, fundraising support, investor engagement programs, ecosystem partnerships, the organisation supports entrepreneurship and private market investment throughout the region, with active operations and partnerships across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Morocco.

About FinBursa

FinBursa is a global intelligent deal infrastructure for private markets. FinBursa covers deal management, investment CRM, virtual data rooms, fundraising, and investor portals in one connected environment, powered by FinBursa’s agentic operating intelligence serving private market professionals globally.

Press release:

Numi today emerged from stealth as the first AI-native personal finance management platform built for the GCC region. 

The company was founded by Leni Andronicos (CEO) and Usman Azim (CTO), with a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Oxford University, engineers from Microsoft and IBM, and banking experts from UBS, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered. 

Where most personal finance apps show users their money, Numi is building a service that actually manages it autonomously. The company is teaching AI agents to handle a user’s entire financial life — paying bills, investing, and managing debt, loans and savings — with the goal of getting people the most out of every dirham. 

The company is based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and has been granted access to the UAE’s Open Finance regulatory sandbox, regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), as it works toward a Third Party Provider (TPP) licence. 

This product will be powered by what the company calls a “mandate model”: a network of specialised AI agents acting on a user’s behalf. At the core of the platform is Numi’s “Decision Engine”, proprietary technology developed in-house that will govern how the agents make financial decisions on a user’s behalf, built specifically around GCC financial behaviour. 

“Until now, ‘financial AI’ has meant a smarter calculator — it crunches your spending, hands you a recommendation, and leaves the actual work to you,” said Leni Andronicos, CEO and co-founder of Numi. 

"We're building Numi to close the last mile. Most financial apps will tell you to save more or pay down your credit card — Numi will actually do it for you. Connect your cards and accounts, and a team of AI agents goes to work on your behalf: paying bills on time, getting more yield on your savings, investing your spare cash, managing FX, and optimising every dirham left over."

A serial founder, Andronicos has grown consumer platforms to millions of customers across 70+ countries and has worked with companies including Spotify and American Express before relocating to Dubai to found Numi after six years building startups in Sweden. 

Azim built his career deploying technology at a global scale — leading information security for Citi's Nordic businesses, then directing the virtualisation of more than 10,000 business applications across the bank's global infrastructure as SVP of Technology. He went on to deliver enterprise-wide automation programmes across Belgium and the GCC, before becoming the co-founder at Numi. 

"Money management built on AI only works if people can trust it completely," said Usman Azim, CTO and co-founder of Numi. "After 14 years inside Citi's global infrastructure, I've seen what it actually takes to move money safely at scale – the controls, the audit trails, the things that never make it into a product demo but matter the moment something goes wrong. “We built that rigour into Numi from day one, not as an afterthought. Every action our agents take is explainable, reversible, and accountable — because handing someone control over your financial life has to be earned, not assumed." 

The company’s mission is to help people become financially independent, not just those who can afford a private wealth manager.

Press release:

Foodics, the leading restaurant operations and financial management platform in the MENA region, announced the completion of its full acquisition of Norma AI, a Greece-based artificial intelligence company built for the hospitality and restaurant industry. The Norma team has joined Foodics' AI division, and Norma’s Analytics Agent and BI application have been fully integrated into the Foodics platform. 

Founded by George Henein and Anastasios Anastasiadis, Norma was built to bridge the gap between hospitality operators and data, making advanced analytics radically simple, actionable, and accessible for business users without technical expertise. In 2024, Norma launched the first natural language querying BI application in the hospitality industry, allowing any business user to ask questions in plain language, receive instant answers, and build custom dashboards in seconds. Norma raised funding from strategic investors, and joined Foodics’ solutions marketplace before the two companies moved toward full integration.

With this phase finalised, Foodics has completed the 100% acquisition of Norma, building on the initial partial stake acquired in Q1 2025. Norma's technology, which was successfully integrated into the Foodics platform following that initial investment, has since been adopted by more than 10,000 Foodics customer branches. With the acquisition now complete, Norma's team joins Foodics' dedicated AI division focused on building the next generation of Agentic AI for restaurant operations, giving operators intelligent, real-time decision-making capabilities at a scale the industry has not seen before.

Ahmad AlZaini, Co-founder and CEO of Foodics, said: "As the industry grew more complex, so did the data – and turning that data into fast, confident decisions became one of the biggest challenges operators face. Successful restaurants will be the ones who close that gap, utilising intelligence in every layer of their operations. Our acquisition of Norma accelerates our agentic AI development roadmap and product releases, and strengthens our value proposition. For our operators, that translates directly into greater efficiency, smarter decision-making, and healthier profit margins.”

George Henein, Norma’s Co-founder, said: “Norma was built in Greece by a team of exceptional engineers and AI specialists with a focus on solving practical problems through technology. Our goal was to help restaurants make better decisions by making data more accessible and easier to use with an intuitive experience.

By joining forces with Foodics, we gain the scale, resources, and reach to accelerate the adoption of what we're building. Combining Foodics’ market leadership with Norma’s expertise in AI and analytics creates a strong foundation for the next generation of hospitality technology.”

The acquisition accelerates Foodics' evolution into an AI-native platform and reinforces its regional leadership. With over 40,000 branches on the Foodics platform and growing market presence across the GCC and North Africa, the integration of Norma's agentic capabilities represents one of the most significant deployments of AI in the global hospitality sector.

Press release:

Agenz, a Moroccan proptech startup specialising in real estate data and transactions, has raised an oversubscribed $5 million Seed funding round led by BREEGA, Attijariwafa Ventures, and Saviu Ventures.

The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate its expansion beyond property data and transaction services and into the financial infrastructure layer of real estate.

Founded by Malik Belkeziz and Badr Belkeziz and later joined by Wassila Berrada and Ayyoub Mouadden, Agenz is building technology solutions aimed at improving transparency and efficiency across the real estate ecosystem.

The company said it selected investors with deep operational expertise and experience in helping ambitious companies scale, as it enters its next phase of growth.

Agenz remains focused on its long-term mission of building the operating system for the next generation of real estate, creating a market that is more transparent, efficient, and accessible for all stakeholders.

Press release:

Rentify, a UAE-based proptech and fintech company, has raised $2 million in a seed funding round to support the launch of Earn AI, an artificial intelligence platform designed to automate rental revenue management for landlords and property managers.

The investment brings Rentify's total funding to $2.5 million, following a $500,000 pre-seed round completed in 2025. The latest round was backed by a syndicate of real estate and fintech investors.

Founded by Rajneel Kumar and Rashed Hareb, Rentify is expanding from rental payment infrastructure into a broader operating and intelligence platform for the real estate sector. Earn AI automates key tenancy management functions, including rent collection, tenant onboarding, payment reminders, and lease renewals.

The platform is already being used by five enterprise customers, including Gargash Real Estate, New Star Property Management, Arabian Acres Real Estate, Purecare Management, and RSH Holiday Homes Rental, which collectively manage thousands of residential and commercial units across the UAE.

According to Rentify, analysis of its customer portfolio indicates that landlords and property managers may be leaving between 8% and 14% of annual rental income unrealised due to pricing gaps, unmanaged tenant churn, and payment leakage.

The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate the rollout of Earn AI and further strengthen its AI-driven operating infrastructure for the real estate industry. 

In a slower funding market, the biggest mistake founders can make is not missing a round. It is disappearing from the conversation.

May 2026 marked a shift in the startup landscape across the Middle East. A global funding correction, combined with ongoing geopolitical tensions, has made investors more cautious. Capital is still available, but it is moving more slowly, becoming increasingly selective and more closely tied to performance. Follow-on rounds are no longer assumed, and conviction takes longer to build.

In this environment, startups tend to do one of two things: they either go quiet or overcompensate with optimism. Neither works.

Silence creates uncertainty and erodes trust. Markets continue moving, competitors continue communicating, and a lack of visibility raises questions about momentum and stability. At the same time, inflated positivity is quickly filtered out. Investors in the region are more experienced now and far more focused on fundamentals.

The shift required is simple. Visibility needs to move from volume to value.

From presence to substance

It is the founder's story that needs to be repeated: who founded the company, why it exists and how it is navigating the current environment. Communication should be built on substance, backed by conviction, expressed with clarity and style, and delivered with restraint.

At its core, communication rests on four pillars:

• Substance: What do you truly stand for? What is your real value?
• Style: How do you express that value in a way people can feel and understand?
• Conviction: Do you believe in it enough to stand by it under pressure?
• Grace: How do you connect, listen and build meaningful bridges with others?

Everything begins with substance. Without it, visibility is empty. Without conviction, positioning becomes fragile. Without grace, influence becomes transactional.

And above all, remember this: people do not just buy into strategies; they invest in people.

Being visible is no longer about maintaining constant presence. It is about saying something that carries weight.

The new language of investor confidence

The startups doing this well are not announcing more; they are explaining better. They share what is driving growth, what is slowing it down and what decisions are being made in response. This level of clarity builds credibility, and credibility has become a key driver of investor confidence.

Consider a fintech startup seeking capital today. Two years ago, investors may have focused on market opportunity and financial inclusion. Today, they want evidence of operational control. They want to understand how customer acquisition costs have evolved, what is driving retention and where margins are tightening. If lending is part of the model, clarity around default rates and risk exposure matters more than topline growth. In a risk-sensitive environment, specificity signals control.

Some sectors may appear less affected by funding slowdowns. Healthcare, for example, continues to benefit from long-term demand across the region, from preventative care to longevity-focused services. Such developments can create the impression that more visibility is needed to match that momentum. But expectations have shifted here as well.

The advantage is not in communicating more, but in communicating better. Broad narratives around innovation or impact are no longer enough. What carries weight is clarity on outcomes: treatment effectiveness, patient retention, cost efficiencies for providers and integration within existing healthcare systems.

Visibility as a trust signal

The regional context reinforces this shift. The UAE and Saudi ecosystems have matured quickly, with stronger institutional capital and increased global scrutiny. Expectations have moved from potential to performance. At the same time, these markets remain deeply relationship-driven, making consistent and credible visibility essential.

In a slower funding cycle, communication extends beyond investors. Customers are evaluating reliability, talent is evaluating stability and partners are evaluating long-term viability. Visibility becomes a tool for trust, not just fundraising.

The most effective approach is controlled transparency: fewer updates, but more relevant ones; clear data instead of broad claims; decisions explained alongside outcomes. Strategy, ultimately, is built on substance, style, conviction and grace.

Market conditions will continue to fluctuate, especially in a region managing both growth and geopolitical uncertainty. But attention remains constant. When visibility drops, narrative control is lost, and in this market, that comes at a cost.

Funding cycles eventually recover. Trust is harder to rebuild. The founders who continue communicating with substance and credibility during difficult periods are often the ones best positioned when capital returns.

Press release:

Terraxy, a Saudi deeptech startup spun out of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), has raised $3 million in a Seed-2 funding round led by Wa'ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Aramco, with participation from KAUST.

Founded in 2023 by Professor Himanshu Mishra and Dr Adair Gallo, Terraxy develops proprietary technologies designed to regenerate degraded soils in arid environments and support large-scale greening initiatives. Its flagship product, Carbosoil, is an engineered soil enhancer that improves water and nutrient retention in sandy soils and can increase plant growth and yields by up to 70% while using the same amount of water and nutrients.

The company plans to use the funding to transition from pilot-scale production to industrial deployment and accelerate the commercialisation of its technologies. As part of this expansion, Terraxy is developing a 30,000-square-metre commercial facility in Al Zulfi, Saudi Arabia.

Beyond improving agricultural productivity, Terraxy's technology offers long-term carbon sequestration capabilities by enabling atmospheric carbon dioxide to be stored in soils for centuries, positioning the company at the intersection of climate technology, resource efficiency, and environmental restoration.

The investment reflects growing investor interest in deeptech solutions that address national priorities, including water security, land rehabilitation, and sustainability, while supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and Saudi Green Initiative objectives.

Press release:

Dubizzle Group Announces Strategic Partnership and Investment in Tern, the UAE's Rental Rewards Platform

Dubizzle Group, the leading online classifieds platform in the Middle East, today announced a strategic partnership and investment in Tern, the UAE's first-of-its-kind rental rewards platform. The partnership will bring a more flexible, digital, and rewarding rental payment experience to tenants, landlords, and agents across the UAE.

Dubizzle Group’s strategic investment in Tern reflects the organisation’s commitment to building a richer property ecosystem that supports users beyond search and discovery. Through this partnership, which sees the Tern platform integrated exclusively into Bayut and dubizzle, tenants will be able to pay their rent by credit card and earn Tern Rewards points redeemable across a network of retail, travel, and lifestyle merchants – at no cost.

For tenants, Tern makes one of the household’s largest recurring expenses more flexible and rewarding, without hidden fees or additional premiums for using a credit card. This is what makes the solution especially valuable: tenants can manage rent payments more easily while also earning loyalty points that can be redeemed for flights, electronics, and everyday lifestyle rewards.

For landlords, property managers and agents, the platform supports faster, fully digital rent collection, while offering tenants a more attractive and flexible payment experience that can help improve retention and make rental properties more appealing.

Founded in 2024 by Said Al Sayyed and Mohamad Shaitou and launched in May 2025, Tern has rapidly established itself as the UAE's first dedicated rental rewards platform, with over AED 150 million in annualized rent payment volume now flowing through its ecosystem. By building a multi-stakeholder loyalty network that connects tenants, landlords, banks, and merchants, Tern is modernizing how rent is paid across the region. 

Commenting on the partnership, Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Dubizzle Group UAE, said:

“At Bayut and dubizzle, our focus has always been on solving real challenges across the property journey, which extends beyond just helping people find a home. Rent is one of the largest recurring expenses for most households, yet the payment experience has traditionally offered very little flexibility or added value. In Tern, we found the most compelling solution to address this industry challenge, led by an exceptional founding team with a clear vision. Our partnership offers renters a more convenient and rewarding way to manage their rental payments, while also creating new opportunities for landlords and agents across the UAE. It is another step towards building a more connected, user-focused property ecosystem. ”

The investment is made through Dubizzle Group Ventures, the Group's dedicated venture capital arm focused on early-stage technology startups across the GCC. Surya Raviganesh, who leads Dubizzle Group's investments, added: "We are on the lookout for aspirational founders building scalable, and innovative business models that create unique value around our property, automotive and consumer marketplaces. Half the population of the UAE uses one of our platforms every month, and there are material synergies by partnering with businesses that can benefit from our highly engaged audience."

The investment reflects Dubizzle Group's vision to build a more connected property ecosystem, where finding, renting, and managing a home is seamless, flexible, and rewarding. With 58 million monthly visits and 20 million monthly users, Dubizzle Group's platforms are the region's go-to destinations, and the exclusive Tern partnership further strengthens their role as the definitive hub for renting in the UAE.