The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines financial literacy or financial capability as a combination of awareness, knowledge, skill, attitude, and behaviour necessary to manage financial resources effectively, as well as the ability to make sound financial decisions for a lifetime of financial wellbeing.

Anghami is now the first home grown company to go public on Nasdaq since Aramex 24 years ago. This is a fantastic story that should be copied again and again for every aspiring, high growth company in the region.

Morocco-based real estate portal Mubawab has received a $10 million cash injection from parent company Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) to accelerate its expansion in the Maghreb region and develop its technology.

Music streaming platform Anghami has listed on the New York NASDAQ exchange via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Vistas Media Acquisition Company (VMAC).

Saudi Arabia-based retailer Alhokair and mall operator Arabian Centres Company (ACC) have come together to acquire a combined 51 per cent stake in Vogacloset, a UK-based fashion e-commerce marketplace that caters to the Middle East where it has 12 million users.

Bahrain-based internet of things (IoT) and hardware accelerator Brinc Mena, Tamkeen Fund and Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco), have jointly invested $53,000 (BHD20,000) in Turkey-based AREYtech, as part of Brinc’s sixth iteration of its acceleration programme.

Ludwig Lindermayer is a patent and trademark attorney at PAUSTIAN & PARTNER. In a series of thought leadership pieces, he outlines the basics of intellectual property and how best to protect them as a startup.

UAE-based talent booking startup Soul Artists, has raised a $350,000 bridge funding round from Falak Investment Hub and Wasel. Launched in 2017, Soul Artists is a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform that connects talent with entertainment seekers from all around the world in real-time.

Startupbootcamp Fintech Dubai has announced the graduation of its third cohort of 11 startups. These startups included: UK-based Absolute Collateral and Compliance as a Service, UAE-based Aura Technologies, Finllect, Flaist, and Stornest, US-based Raseed,  Singapore-based Kilde, Hong Kong-based Open CBS, Malaysia-based Singular Capital and Jordan-based Tajjir.

Source: YourStory Raena, a startup that enables micro beauty entrepreneurs, said it will use the funding to grow its team from 15 to 100 over the next three months.

Rupert Shaw is the chief commercial officer at Ding, a mobile top up and airtime transfer company based in Ireland Among all the developments in the telecoms sector, the prepaid mobile phone is perhaps one of the most revolutionary.

Egypt-based property technology (proptech) company RentUp, has raised a six-figure pre-seed investment from Japanese private equity firm, Luqman Weise Capital, which specialises in technology development and fintech innovation.

UAE-based micromobility operator FENIX has completed its $5 million Seed round, after securing a $1.2 million second close led by Saudi Arabia’s Emkan Capital and UAE-based Panthera Capital Ventures, to be added to the $3.

UK-based international investment firm Hambro Perks has announced the launch and initial close of its Abu Dhabi-based $50 million VC fund, Oryx Fund, targeting early-stage startups in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Leen Ashqar is a senior associate at Propeller, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Amman, Jordan As an active pre-seed and seed investor for the past four years, we have met a fair share of founders during the early days of their journeys.

Iraq-based e-commerce platform Orisdi, has raised a six-figure bridge round led by Innovest Middle East VC, with participation from a group of angel investors, including Amar Shubar, a partner of Management Partners Consulting and Omar Al-Handal, managing director of Al Handal International Group.

Bahrain-based open banking platform Tarabut Gateway has closed a seed funding round of $13 million, hailed to be the largest fintech seed round in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) to date.

By the Lebanon Outsourcing Initiative  All eyes have been on Lebanon over the past year, but for all the wrong reasons. One initiative is seeking to change the country’s narrative and reposition Lebanon as a prime outsourcing hub, servicing the world.

Source: Zawya UAE start-up Sprout FZCO, a plant-based food business aimed at children, has received $200,000 in funding. The fresh capital from Bahrain-based FA Holding will be used for retail expansion of products and services, the firm said.

Global venture capital firm 500 Startups has partnered with Saudi Arabia-based Sanabil Investments, a financial investment company focused on global private investments in venture capital, growth and small buyout, to launch the Sanabil 500 Mena Seed Accelerator Programme in Riyadh.

UAE-based trading platform for second-hand luxury products and electronics North Ladder, has raised a $5 million Series A funding round led by BECO Capital.

Jordan-based employee engagement and retention SaaS platform Engagesoft, has raised a six-figure pre-Seed round from a group of angel investors in Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Flat6Labs Bahrain announced that eight startups have received $250,000 investment as part of its sixth cycle, which concluded after a four-month acceleration programme.

Saudi Arabia-based Hazen.ai, has received a follow-on investment from Wa’ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Aramco. The startup received its first-ever funding from Wa’ed back in 2019.

Source: The Spoon Natufia Labs, the Estonia-based automated kitchen garden startup, announced today that it is relocating to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) has launched the Sharjah Startup Studio (S3), the first government-backed startup studio in the UAE, which offers a hands-on approach to venture building.

Mahmood Ahmadu is the chairman of Innovate 1 Pay, a Nigerian financial technology (fintech) company established in 2012, providing online payment solutions for retail and wholesale mobile remittances, mobile money and currency card payments.

Saudi Arabia-based cloud accounting and e-invoicing platform VoM has closed a pre-Seed investment round of SAR2.5 million ($670,000). The round was led by a group of angel investors.

UAE-based construction and real estate startup XPLOR, has raised $3 million in a Seed funding round from Ayana Holding. Founded in 2015, XPLOR is a 3D technology, digital twin, and master planning software that aims to help real estate developers to reduce their operational expenditure, increase market share, and minimise the possibility of human error.

Source: Digital Learning Eupheus Learning, a Delhi-based educational technology start-up, said on Monday that it had raised $ 4.1 million in the Series B funding round sponsored by United Education Company (UEC) and Al Rayan Holding Company (ARHC), based in Kuwait, UEC has a majority stake.