Mar 21, 2025

Here are the venture funding activities we tracked in the Middle East and African region this week – including Bria, NymCard, ClearGrid, PlaysOut, Leta, ORO Labs, Grinta, and Juridoc.tn. Investor confidence in Middle Eastern startups continues to surge, with massive funding rounds pouring into fintech, AI, and gametech. Meanwhile, Africa's funding scene presents a more cautious picture, with key sectors like logistics and healthcare still attracting investor interest but at a slower pace. Leading this week's funding is Israel-based enterprise visual AI platform Bria, which secured a $40 million Series B from Red Dot Capital, with participation from Maor Investment, Entrée Capital, GFT Ventures, Intel Capital, and In-Venture. The funding will fuel Bria’s efforts to scale its licensed generative AI platform, enabling enterprises to create risk-free, on-brand content at scale—an increasingly vital capability in the AI-driven marketing landscape. Fintech remains a powerhouse in the UAE, with embedded finance platform NymCard raising $33 million in Series B, led by QED Investors. The round will accelerate its mission to expand embedded finance solutions across MENA’s growing fintech ecosystem. Another UAE-based fintech, ClearGrid, emerged from stealth mode with a $10 million dual round—a $3.5 million pre-seed co-led by Raed Ventures and Beco Capital, and a $6.5 million seed round co-led by Nuwa Capital and Raed Ventures. Not far behind, UAE-based gametech startup PlaysOut locked in a $7 million seed round at a $70 million valuation from investors, including OKX Ventures, KBW Ventures, and Pacific Century Group—showcasing the region’s increasing appetite for gaming and interactive entertainment. Africa, on the other hand, saw fewer high-profile rounds this week, though some sectors continued to secure key investments. Kenya’s logistics tech startup Leta bagged a $5 million seed round from European investment firm Speedinvest to optimize transportation solutions across the continent. Meanwhile, a tokenized gold protocol built on Solana, ORO Labs closed a $1.5 million pre-seed round, backed by 468 Capital with participation from angel investors involved in Phantom, Jupiter, and Helium. In Egypt, the pharma-tech sector is heating up as Grinta, a fast-growing healthcare startup, raised an undisclosed funding round and made a strategic acquisition of Citi Clinic, a leading primary healthcare service chain, to accelerate expansion into East Africa. Rounding out the week’s investments, Tunisia-based regtech startup Juridoc.tn secured undisclosed funding from Go Big Partners and 216 Capital Ventures, reinforcing investor interest in regulatory technology solutions across North Africa. While Middle Eastern startups continue their funding streak, Africa’s investment pace appears more measured. Is this a temporary adjustment, or a sign of shifting investor priorities? The coming weeks will reveal whether Africa’s funding momentum rebounds—or if the gap between the two regions continues to grow.