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Fresh startup news from across the MENA region
Egypt’s Sisi Meets Nigeria’s Dangote, Discusses Potential Investments in Egypt
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al‑Sisi met with Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote to discuss potential Dangote Group investments in Egypt across energy, fertilizers, chemicals and cement. The Egyptian presidency signalled readiness to facilitate and support those investments.
UAE unveils homegrown probe for Asteroid Mission
The UAE unveiled a domestically developed probe for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA), built by a consortium including UAE Space Agency, TII, Khalifa University, and Abu Dhabi startup HEX20; the probe is flight-ready and set to launch in early 2028.
Venture Capitalist Judah Taub Launches Moonshots for Israel: 12 Big Ideas for a Small Nation
Venture capitalist Judah Taub published Moonshots for Israel, outlining 12 large-scale proposals across defense, energy, water and governance aimed at generating over $1 trillion in value; Taub is founder and managing partner of Hetz Ventures, which manages nearly $500 million.
Dubai Future Accelerators: How to Apply and What Startups Actually Get
Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) is a 0% equity, non-cash programme run by the Dubai Future Foundation that pairs tech companies with Dubai government entities for challenge-based, in-residence build sprints (2026 DCAI cycle is a two-week agentic AI sprint). Participants get paid travel and access to government testbeds and procurement routes, but no guaranteed commercial agreement or direct investment.
Dubai Future Foundation launches agentic AI accelerator for 33 government entities
Dubai Future Foundation, together with the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Dubai and DESC, has launched an Agentic AI for Government Services Accelerator to pair 33 Dubai government entities with Dubai AI Seal–certified tech firms to prototype and deploy agentic AI public services.
AI safety and rapid rise of advanced technology key topics for Abu Dhabi summit
The Ai Everything summit in Abu Dhabi showcases the emirate's push to become an 'AI-native' government by 2027, highlights safety and governance of advanced tech, and features leaders from generative AI and robotics presenting live public-sector AI use cases.
FII Institute Selects Five Startups for Innovators Pitch in Riyadh
The FII Institute selected five startups from 1,321 applications to pitch at FII10 Investment Day in Riyadh on October 29, showcasing technologies across agriculture, healthcare, logistics, education, AI and robotics. The cohort aims to connect founders with investors and partners to accelerate commercialization and scaling.
Indian IT firms turn to GCC acquisitions as organic revenue growth falters
Indian IT services firms are acquiring global capability centres (GCCs) to gain scale, multi-year revenue and domain expertise as organic growth slows and AI pressures traditional fee models. Major 2026 deals include TCS buying Best Buy’s GCC, HCLTech acquiring Guardian Life’s GCC, and Wipro buying Mindsprint (Olam).
Rasmal Ventures and Bilişim Vadisi Collaboration builds startup bridge between two nations
Rasmal Ventures signed a three-year MoU with Türkiye’s Bilişim Vadisi to create a structured channel connecting startups, investors and corporates between Türkiye and the Gulf, enabling two‑way market access, joint innovation programmes and investor matchmaking.
Fundraising News
Tabby raised $200M in a Series D at a $1.5B valuation as it targets a Saudi IPO, while Brazilian banking-as-a-service QI Tech closed a $200M Series B led by General Atlantic.
Central Asian Startups Go Global
Alongside U.S. funds, investors from the Gulf states, China, Europe, and Southeast Asia are becoming more active in Central Asia. In September, Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures announced plans for
Finland eyes Qatari investment to fuel €250bn tech ecosystem
Finland’s state-backed investor Tesi pitched a three-pronged co-investment plan in Doha to channel Qatari capital into Finnish scale-ups, venture funds and large industrial projects to help build a €250bn tech ecosystem by 2035.
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