Startup Researcher Middle East’s Post

Glad to share that our team - Greg B. & Kaidul Islam - will be present at Investor Day, showcasing our latest advancements in Generative AI for financial services🚀 We look forward to sharing how our cutting-edge solutions will accelerate investment processes. See you there! #GenerativeAI #FinancialServices #FinancialAdvisors #FinancialInvestors

⁠We’re thrilled to introduce the 14 innovative start-ups pitching at Investor Day! These include participants from the Ripple XRPL Scale-up Accelerator Programme, Emirates NBD NDTI Programme, Ignyte's Pitch at the Hive, and our wider ecosystem. Don’t miss the chance to witness these innovative solutions - register now for Investor Day: https://lu.ma/bexy2psj The start-ups are: Palisade, Inc: Revolutionising wallet and custody infrastructure with integrated transaction monitoring and compliance tools. Propto - REClosure: A platform for buying and selling tokenised assets, offering transparency and efficiency. Alt DRX: A digital exchange for tokenised real estate, enabling real-time pricing and instant settlements. VNX: A European stablecoin generator focusing on Swiss Franc and gold-backed tokens for cross-border payments. Zerpmon : An XRPL-based creature collecting game with dynamic NFTs and in-game rewards. Homie: The world's first super cash-back platform for everyday needs. Jam3ya: A digital platform modernising the traditional Jamiya savings circle practice. ITIFAQ: A legal tech startup automating legal research using AI. Feddi: Transforming loyalty programmes with a seamless, collaborative network. DeepFlows AI: A B2B SaaS company using AI to accelerate corporate finance transactions. Traveln.ai: An AI-powered app creating personalised travel itineraries. Pemo: An all-in-one spend management platform with corporate cards and automated expense management. Mental: A groundbreaking immersive training platform using AI and gaming technology. Whizmo: A mobile money platform catering to the financial needs of underserved communities in the UAE. DIFC #DIFC #DIFCInnovationHub #InvestorDay #Startups #Ripple #ENBD #Ignyte

Dubai based fintech Ziina زينة secures a $22 million series A led by Altos Ventures #Ziina, a Dubai-based #fintech, has secured $22 million in Series A funding led by #Altos Ventures, reflecting strong investor confidence in its rapid growth despite a global funding slowdown. Founded by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan, and Andrew Gold, Ziina has evolved from a peer-to-peer payment app to a comprehensive platform serving 50,000 retail and business customers, particularly focusing on the underserved SME market in the UAE. The company’s product-led growth strategy, central bank license, and diverse offerings, including payment gateways, POS solutions, and CRM features, have fueled its expansion. Investors like Activant Capital, Avenir Growth, and Y Combinator have joined the latest funding round, bringing Ziina’s total venture raised to over $30 million. Positioned as a key player in the UAE’s growing fintech landscape, Ziina aims to become the “Nubank of the region,” leveraging its all-in-one platform to connect consumers and businesses under one ecosystem. The article on TechCrunch in the first comment. Want to stay up to date with the market? Here my newsletter: - Linkedin: https://lnkd.in/d4h8zqKA  - Substack: https://lnkd.in/dzfGJzmW

#AbuDhabiFinanceWeek: Check out our highlights from the week below 👇   🚀 Across panels, it was great to engage with industry leaders to exchange notes and contribute to the collective vision for the region’s fintech future. Alex Manson, our CEO, spoke on a panel to discuss #AbuDhabi’s rise as a leading hub and how it's creating funding and commercial prospects that establish the foundation for #startups to scale. Mohamed Fairooz, who leads our ME presence, shared insights on where the #investing environment stands as well as what’s next for regional fintechs as they capitalise on emerging tech, regulatory advancements and a supportive ecosystem. (👉 https://lnkd.in/gQJxGbH7)   🚀 Our ventures announced exciting developments in the region: Zodia Markets received Financial Services Permission from ADGM, enabling them to operate as a regulated virtual asset brokerage in the #MiddleEast (👉 https://lnkd.in/gJcB_T4u), Emirates NBD became the 5th major institution to invest in Zodia Custody (👉 https://lnkd.in/gWeiiTiv), and audax, our digital banking technology solutions provider, partnered with Tuum to accelerate digital transformation for financial institutions (👉 https://lnkd.in/g9r34NqS). Our ventures myZoi | Financial Inclusion Technologies and Zodia Custody also exhibited at Venture Park showcasing their institutional-grade solutions, getting validation and feedback from the ecosystem.   🚀 We announced 2 MoUs with key partners, LuLu Financial Holdings (👉 https://lnkd.in/gw_8iUP9) and 7X (👉 https://lnkd.in/gMRfX6H7) to co-create transformative startups and enable growth for SMEs in the #UAE and wider #MENA region.   A huge thank you to ADFW for organizing a top-class event and to Hub71 for the partnership! Let's stay connected on our global community platform: https://lnkd.in/gTzazRyr Rola Abu Manneh Gautam Jain Ahmad Alwan Adeeb Ahamed Abdulla M. Alashram Nasiba AlShukairy Mark Dymock Farooq Siddiqi Asmik Akopyan Robbie Nakarmi Nick Philpott Ayad Butt Peter Abou Hachem Lily Liu Marcel Kasumovich Iftekhar Salim Tarek Osman Antofelix Sundarraj Mike Breen Ian Fernandes Yustus Aribariho MBA Aaron Gwak Syed Ali Christian Buchholz Benito Mable Vault22 Appro.ae #ADFW2024 #RewiringtheDNAinbanking

#FoundersChronicles 🌟 Here's a digest of the main milestones of our #FF portfolio companies : Lydia Solutions unveiled Café Sumeria, a fintech-meets-lifestyle space located in Paris, redefining customer engagement ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e-kyQzWq Bohr Energie partners with Enogrid to become the first aggregator in France offering a turnkey solution for collective self-consumption of renewable energy ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eVQzdnn7 Deblock becomes the second company in France to obtain registration from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). This approval positions Deblock as a trusted player in the crypto space, ensuring compliance and security for its users ➡️ https://lnkd.in/efNZxARZ getinside 2.0 is live, offering expanded options to activate e-commerce audiences across multiple touchpoints. From email campaigns and push notifications to social posts and direct mail, advertising possibilities have significantly multiplied for brands ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eHHmd9Ap Audion strengthens its leadership by appointing Geoffrey Fossier as Global CMO. With past roles at Le Figaro, Webedia, and Azerion, Geoffrey brings deep expertise to drive growth and international expansion ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e36fXtVz Siit successfully raised €5 million in seed funding, led by StageOne Ventures and Seventure Partners, to revolutionize IT service desks with AI-powered solutions. This investment will accelerate their mission to simplify internal operations and drive growth ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eSeENWHP Bitstack celebrates their app hitting the top charts on the App Store! Additionally, their CEO shares insights into crypto-saving solutions in the latest LEGEND episode, highlighting adoption strategies in the fintech space ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7wHBDgH & https://lnkd.in/eDpidqHG #Tech #Impact #ProudInvestor

As we wrap up January, we’re excited to share the ultimate start-up toolkit designed to help FinTech businesses scale. At Ignyte, we understand the challenges faced by start-ups, and our mission is to help you overcome these hurdles and achieve your goals. 🚀 Our FinTech start-up toolkit is carefully curated to provide everything you need to scale your business, including: 🔹Expert Mentorship: Connect with top mentors like Fabian Vandenreydt, Lukasz Konwicki, James Ashton-Smith and many more 🔹Lexyom: Manage all your legal needs with ease 🔹Pelrio | the better alternative to spreadsheets: Control your cash flow with APIs connecting to banks, businesses, and ERPs 🔹LANA Technology: Save time on accounting by doing less and achieving more 🔹Nephos Group Limited: Enjoy 20% off expert accounting & tax services for tech and crypto 🔹ACA Effecta: Get tailored compliance and regulatory solutions for your business Swipe through to access your complete scale-up toolkit, packed with all the resources you need to succeed. Avail through our platform 👉🏻 www.ignyte.ae #startuptoolkit #FinTech #scaleup #marketplace #dubai #ignyte

Global startup funding saw its second-lowest month of 2024, with a total of €1.1 billion across 148 deals. The average cheque size dropped to €7.27 million. That's 20.5% below this year’s average and a sharp decline to October’s highs. Nuclio Digital’s November report highlights the changing priorities in early-stage investment. Some of those shifts include: 🔶 Europe’s Software sector stumbled, with deals dropping from 19 to just 7—a possible sign of market saturation. 🔶 B2B startups dominated globally, securing 85% of total funding, with subscription models leading the way. 🔶 Big Data & AI stood out in Europe, achieving the highest average funding at €20.2M per deal. 🔶 Asia’s Gaming sector exploded, with funding soaring by 1,189% compared to last month. 🔶 Global funding is consolidating around early-stage companies with proven business models. The money is moving toward what works. #startupfunding #venturecapital #techinvestment #couchonomics #payments #fintech #embeddedfinance #digitalassets #futureofmoney #futureoffinance Couchonomics with Arjun - ⁠- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 👍 Hit like ♻️ Share it with your network 📢 Drop a comment 🎙️ Check out my podcast Couchonomics with Arjun on YouTube 📖 Get my weekly newsletter on LinkedIn: Couchonomics Crunch 🕺💃 In the MENA region? Join our Fintech Tuesdays community! 🤝 Let's connect! - ⁠- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

UAE-based fintech Ziina زينة has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round, led by US-based Altos Ventures along with other investors including FinTech Collective, Avenir, Activant Capital, Y Combinator, FJ Labs, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), and Jabbar Internet Group. Founded in 2020 by Faisal Toukan and Sarah Toukan, Ziina helps individuals send and receive payments through its app with just a phone number, no IBAN or Swift Code required. It launched its digital wallet in February 2022. The new round will fuel Ziina’s expansion beyond a #payments solution to providing end-to-end #financial services for businesses and consumers, starting with the soon-to-launch ZiiCard. In June 2021, Ziina, fresh from completing YC’s first cohort that year and securing a $7.5 million seed, launched its #fintech app to 20,000 #retail customers, allowing them to send and receive #money. Three years later, the Dubai-based startup, which now counts 50,000 retail and business customers after expanding its offerings to meet the needs of micro, small, and medium-sized #MSME businesses in the #UAE Full TechCrunch article in comments

💫7 African fintech make CNBC's 2024 top list, serving over 41M users. We've visualised these startups, showcasing their user base and impact across the continent. From Palmpay's 30M payment users to Yoco's 200,000, these fintechs are transforming Africa's financial landscape. Follow us for more insights into Africa's digital ecosystem! . #tcinsights #fintechs #digitalpaymentsinNigeria #AfricanStartups #Africantech

What if there was another way for media companies to monetize online content? 👀 tiun. has raised a $2.5M pre-seed round to lower the entry barries for younger consumers.  Providing alternative monetization models for media platforms to encourage more engagement and conversions. 🤩 The tiun team believes that consuming and paying for online content should be simple and that users shouldn’t need to create a new account, give up personal information, provide credit card details and subscribe - every time they find a new media platform. tiun offers media companies easy-to-integrate solutions that allow a new means of authentication and payment to get customers over that conversion hurdle. Swiss VC firm Founderful led the round, which also included Blue Wire Capital, among other angel investors. This funding will kick-start tiun’s efforts to become Europe's preferred way to pay for online media by onboarding new business partnerships and integrations with third-party payment methods, i.e. digital wallets. 🤝 Big congratulations to Sandro F. Zweig, Nikolaos Christoforakos, Christian Heiduschke and the whole tiun team! 🙌 Read more on the announcement in Business Insider by Riddhi Kanetkar : https://lnkd.in/dqABweRN #funding #preseedround #fintech #app #startup