Last Week in Funding (January 29-Feb 4)

Last week, startups raised $10.78 million in disclosed funding, led by Saudi Arabia startup car rental company Ejaro, which secured $3.28 million in a pre-series A round.

See our full roundup of investments and investor news below.

Edtech iStoria Raises $1.3 Million in Seed Round

Saudi Arabia-based edtech iStoria raised $1.3 million in a seed round from Nama Ventures, Classera, Flat6Labs, BIM Ventures, and other angel investors. iStoria will use the new capital to enhance its platform, accelerate innovation, and expand its reach to learners worldwide.

Ejaro Closes a Pre-Series A Financing Round of $3.28Million

Ejaro, a car rental company in Saudi Arabia, completed a pre-Series A investment round totaling $3.28 million, led by Tawuniya alongside other cooperative and angel investors.

The investment will enhance the car rental startup, development, and expansion plans to strengthen its position in peer-to-peer car rental in the Middle East and North Africa.

Roboost Secures $3 Million Investment

Roboost, the Egyptian AI-powered delivery logistics startup, closed a $3 million investment round led by Silicon Badia, with significant contributions from RZMInvestment, Flat6Labs, and Saudi Angel Investors.

Saudi Madfu Closes $3.2 Pre-Seed Round

Saudi-Arabia-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform Madfu concluded a $3.2 pre-seed round from several investors.

Cabrio Closes Pre-Seed Investment Round

Saudi Arabia-based luxury transport service Cabrio raised an undisclosed pre-seed round from angel investors. The round will go toward improving the company's product offerings, supporting digitization and geographic expansion, and accelerating recruitment. 

Also worth noting:

Dubai Investments Purchases 34.3% Stake in Global Fertility Partners

Dubai Investments acquired a 34.3% equity stake in Global Fertility Partners (GFP), a network of fertility and reproductive genetics centers spanning the Middle East.

Flat6Labs Jordan Graduates 6 Startups

Flat6Labs Jordan graduated 6 startups from its Amman Seed program which kicked off on 17 September, 2023.

Bahrain's Tamkeen Launches Riyada Program

Bahrain's labor fund, Tamkeen, unveiled the Riyada program, to fortify the nation's startup landscape.

Iraq Launches New Initiative to Back Entrepreneurs

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Iraq Venture Partners (IVP), and Innovest Middle East jointly launched the Scale Iraq initiative to back Iraqi entrepreneurs.

Saudi Arabia Considers Multibillion-Dollar Aramco Share Sale

Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering a follow-on offering in Aramco in February.

MEVP Announces Closure of its Early-stage Fund

Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) announced the closure of its first $10 million early-stage fund, Middle East Venture Fund I (MEVF I), achieving a cash-on-cash return of 2.5x.

Cohort 2 of XceleRise Endeavour Egypt Program Opens

Applications for cohort 2 of Endeavor Egypt's scale-up program, XceleRise, are now being accepted.

Visa Accelerator Program to Receive Applications Until February 18th

Visa Accelerator Program 2024, launched earlier this month, will receive applications until February 18th.