During the Last Week of February 2026, Startup Investments and Acquisitions Surpassed $101 Million - إنت عربي

During the week of February 22–28, 2026, startup investments and acquisitions across the Middle East and Africa topped $101 million in disclosed deals, driven by a large Saudi investment and several regional funding rounds and strategic partnerships. EntArabi’s weekly report tracking the most prominent transactions recorded activity spanning Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iraq and the United States, with key deals in artificial intelligence, fintech, logistics and crowdfunding.

"Total disclosed investments surpassed $101 million during the week," the EntArabi weekly report said, noting that this figure excludes several deals with undisclosed values.

Details of the week’s activity

• Saudi Arabia: 1 deal — Presight’s investment into Shorooq Fund I (investment portfolio), valued at $100 million.
• United Arab Emirates: 2 deals — Paquik and NodeShift, with a combined disclosed total of $1.085 million; Paquik’s logistics and delivery deal is listed at $85,000.
• United States: 4 deals — Candid, Blue, Crunched and Hebbia; values were undisclosed or noted as within a fund.
• Egypt: Operational expansion — Beban is pursuing regional expansion pending licensing.
• Iraq: Strategic partnership — MoneyHash entered a partnership with Wayl.
• University-backed initiative: Riyadh Valley partnered with SparkLabs to establish a venture fund and accelerator at King Saud University (initiative noted in the weekly roundup).

The weekly sector breakdown highlighted artificial intelligence and deep tech as the most active category, listing five related deals — NodeShift, Candid, Hebbia, Blue and Crunched — with a combined disclosed value reported as $100 million. Logistics and delivery activity was represented by Paquik, while fintech and e-commerce saw non-disclosed expansions and partnerships, including Beban’s pending license-driven expansion and MoneyHash’s collaboration with Wayl.

EntArabi’s summary emphasized that the disclosed total of more than $101 million does not capture the full picture, as several U.S.-linked transactions and other regional rounds remain undisclosed or structured within funds. The report was published by محمد يحي on March 1, 2026, as part of the outlet’s regular investment tracking.

Outlook

With a single large allocation — Presight’s $100 million commitment into Shorooq Fund I’s portfolio — accounting for the bulk of the disclosed sum, the coming weeks will be telling for how much additional, undisclosed capital was deployed across smaller rounds and strategic partnerships. Observers will watch integrations and regulatory steps, such as Beban’s licensing process in Egypt and the rollout of Riyadh Valley’s SparkLabs-backed initiative at King Saud University, to gauge near-term deal flow and operational expansion in the region.