SiFi, a Saudi Arabia-based fintech company founded in 2021 by Ahmed Al-Hakbani, has raised $10 million in a seed funding round.
The round was led by Sanabil Investments and RAED Ventures, with participation from anb seed, Rua Ventures, Byld, KBW Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, Seedra Ventures, and Tech Invest Com.
SiFi provides a business-to-business spending management platform with smart corporate cards, real-time spending insights, and automated expense management workflows.
Al-Hakbani, SiFi's CEO, expressed excitement about the funding, which will be used to enhance the offering, deliver more value to customers, and establish SiFi as the leading spend management solution in Saudi Arabia.
SiFi aims to empower businesses in Saudi Arabia by providing tools for stakeholders to make informed decisions and enabling finance teams to enforce spending policies.
This decentralizes spending while enhancing control and driving growth.
SiFi's funding from Sanabil Investments will help enhance offerings and solidify its position as the leading spend management solution in Saudi Arabia.
Sanabil Investments was attracted to SiFi due to its outstanding team, compelling product offering, and the underserved market in Saudi Arabia for efficient financial management tools.
In May 2024, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) startups experienced a significant increase in investment, raising a total of $282 million across 40 deals, a 413% jump from April's $55 million.
This growth was mainly due to debt financing, which accounted for nearly $140 million.
However, the year-on-year deal value saw a 58% decline from $445 million in May 2023.
UAE's Property Finder led the investment with a $90 million debt round, while Huspy and Keyper secured $37 million and $34 million, respectively, with debt financing contributing $30 million to Keyper's total.
UAE-based startups received the most investments, totaling $189 million in 23 transactions.
In May 2023, Saudi Arabian startups received $56 million in funding through 10 deals, with Egyptian startups securing $24.5 million in four deals.
The property tech sector led in funding with $167.2 million raised in seven rounds.
Fintech startups followed with $32.7 million in 12 deals, and logistics startups secured $25.3 million in three deals.
Agritech showed signs of recovery with $23 million raised, including $16 million for Iyris's series A round.
Software as a service startups also rebounded with $27 million in three transactions.
The region's venture capital space focused on later-stage rounds, with $59.3 million raised by five startups at their series A stage and $44 million by four startups at their pre-series A stage.
In May 2023, seed stage deals were the most numerous, with seven deals worth $11 million.
GrubTech from UAE was the only startup to close a series B round, raising $15 million, while Merit from Saudi Arabia secured $12 million in a pre-series B round.
A total of $154 million was disclosed for funding, with an additional $27 million undisclosed.
Business-to-consumer (B2C) startups received the majority of funding, totaling $174 million across 13 deals, while B2B startups raised nearly $100 million.
Male founders received 89% of total investments, but there was an increase in co-founded startups with both males and females, which doubled to eight deals and raised $28.6 million.
Female-founded companies secured $800,000.
The MENA region's venture capital space saw significant activity in May, with several new funds launched.
Several venture capital firms and organizations announced new funds and investments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
BIM Ventures and SBI Holdings introduced a $100 million fund.
UAE's TVM Capital Healthcare launched a $250 million fund.
Riyad Capital initiated 1957 Ventures, and Saudi Venture Capital committed $30 million to General Atlantic for Saudi startup investments.
Bahrain's Investcorp closed a $570 million fund, and Shorooq Partners and IMM Investment Global launched a $100 million fund.
Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures announced a $100 million MENA fund.
Saudi Arabia-based Qsalary partnered with Itqan Capital for an $80 million investment fund.
In Egypt, Beltone and Microfinanza Italia launched a $2.4 million project to support startups, and the $3 million Glint Fund II was introduced.
Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding participated in Elon Musk's xAI's $6 billion Series B round, valuing the company at $24 billion.
UAE-based AI startup qeen.ai raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Wamda Capital.
The round included participation from international and regional investors like 10x Founders, Aditum, Dara Holdings, Jabbar Group, Phaze Ventures, and Eureka 460.
Founded in 2023 by Dina Al-Samhan, Ahmad Khwileh, and Morteza Ibrahimi, qeen.ai offers accessible and autonomous AI solutions for e-commerce businesses.
Wamda Capital's CEO, Fadi Ghandour, expressed excitement about the startup's potential to disrupt the e-commerce market in the MENA region and its ability to help businesses increase revenue through AI expertise and e-commerce understanding.
Elevate, a fintech company based in London and Dubai, raised $5 million in a pre-series A funding round.
Founded in 2021 by Khalid Keenan, Faris Keenan, and Youcef Oudjidane, Elevate provides debit cards for online spending and applies standard foreign currency exchange rates for domestic transactions.
The company also enables users to transfer money back to their local accounts for a fixed fee.
Elevate targets freelance professionals by simplifying payments from US and international employers and popular freelancing platforms like Upwork, Maqsam, PayPal, Deel, and Toptal.
The newly acquired funds will be used to expand the company's mission of making AI solutions more accessible and user-friendly for businesses of all sizes.
Elevate has reportedly gained over 150,000 users from Asia and North Africa.
The company intends to use newly raised funds for its expansion into the Middle East and Africa.
SiFi provides a business-to-business spending management platform with smart corporate cards, real-time spending insights, and automated expense management workflows.
Al-Hakbani, SiFi's CEO, expressed excitement about the funding, which will be used to enhance the offering, deliver more value to customers, and establish SiFi as the leading spend management solution in Saudi Arabia.
SiFi aims to empower businesses in Saudi Arabia by providing tools for stakeholders to make informed decisions and enabling finance teams to enforce spending policies.
This decentralizes spending while enhancing control and driving growth.
SiFi's funding from Sanabil Investments will help enhance offerings and solidify its position as the leading spend management solution in Saudi Arabia.
Sanabil Investments was attracted to SiFi due to its outstanding team, compelling product offering, and the underserved market in Saudi Arabia for efficient financial management tools.
In May 2024, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) startups experienced a significant increase in investment, raising a total of $282 million across 40 deals, a 413% jump from April's $55 million.
This growth was mainly due to debt financing, which accounted for nearly $140 million.
However, the year-on-year deal value saw a 58% decline from $445 million in May 2023.
UAE's Property Finder led the investment with a $90 million debt round, while Huspy and Keyper secured $37 million and $34 million, respectively, with debt financing contributing $30 million to Keyper's total.
UAE-based startups received the most investments, totaling $189 million in 23 transactions.
In May 2023, Saudi Arabian startups received $56 million in funding through 10 deals, with Egyptian startups securing $24.5 million in four deals.
The property tech sector led in funding with $167.2 million raised in seven rounds.
Fintech startups followed with $32.7 million in 12 deals, and logistics startups secured $25.3 million in three deals.
Agritech showed signs of recovery with $23 million raised, including $16 million for Iyris's series A round.
Software as a service startups also rebounded with $27 million in three transactions.
The region's venture capital space focused on later-stage rounds, with $59.3 million raised by five startups at their series A stage and $44 million by four startups at their pre-series A stage.
In May 2023, seed stage deals were the most numerous, with seven deals worth $11 million.
GrubTech from UAE was the only startup to close a series B round, raising $15 million, while Merit from Saudi Arabia secured $12 million in a pre-series B round.
A total of $154 million was disclosed for funding, with an additional $27 million undisclosed.
Business-to-consumer (B2C) startups received the majority of funding, totaling $174 million across 13 deals, while B2B startups raised nearly $100 million.
Male founders received 89% of total investments, but there was an increase in co-founded startups with both males and females, which doubled to eight deals and raised $28.6 million.
Female-founded companies secured $800,000.
The MENA region's venture capital space saw significant activity in May, with several new funds launched.
Several venture capital firms and organizations announced new funds and investments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
BIM Ventures and SBI Holdings introduced a $100 million fund.
UAE's TVM Capital Healthcare launched a $250 million fund.
Riyad Capital initiated 1957 Ventures, and Saudi Venture Capital committed $30 million to General Atlantic for Saudi startup investments.
Bahrain's Investcorp closed a $570 million fund, and Shorooq Partners and IMM Investment Global launched a $100 million fund.
Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures announced a $100 million MENA fund.
Saudi Arabia-based Qsalary partnered with Itqan Capital for an $80 million investment fund.
In Egypt, Beltone and Microfinanza Italia launched a $2.4 million project to support startups, and the $3 million Glint Fund II was introduced.
Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding participated in Elon Musk's xAI's $6 billion Series B round, valuing the company at $24 billion.
UAE-based AI startup qeen.ai raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Wamda Capital.
The round included participation from international and regional investors like 10x Founders, Aditum, Dara Holdings, Jabbar Group, Phaze Ventures, and Eureka 460.
Founded in 2023 by Dina Al-Samhan, Ahmad Khwileh, and Morteza Ibrahimi, qeen.ai offers accessible and autonomous AI solutions for e-commerce businesses.
Wamda Capital's CEO, Fadi Ghandour, expressed excitement about the startup's potential to disrupt the e-commerce market in the MENA region and its ability to help businesses increase revenue through AI expertise and e-commerce understanding.
Elevate, a fintech company based in London and Dubai, raised $5 million in a pre-series A funding round.
Founded in 2021 by Khalid Keenan, Faris Keenan, and Youcef Oudjidane, Elevate provides debit cards for online spending and applies standard foreign currency exchange rates for domestic transactions.
The company also enables users to transfer money back to their local accounts for a fixed fee.
Elevate targets freelance professionals by simplifying payments from US and international employers and popular freelancing platforms like Upwork, Maqsam, PayPal, Deel, and Toptal.
The newly acquired funds will be used to expand the company's mission of making AI solutions more accessible and user-friendly for businesses of all sizes.
Elevate has reportedly gained over 150,000 users from Asia and North Africa.
The company intends to use newly raised funds for its expansion into the Middle East and Africa.
