MEA Tech & Startup Digest: Issue #73
Mehmet Gonullu
Igniting Tech & Venture Ecosystems | Startup Advisor | GTM Partner | Angel Investor | Podcast Host | Keynote Speaker
Welcome to the 73rd edition of " The CTO Show's MEA Tech & Startup Digest" Weekly Newsletter! If you're new here, I extend a warm welcome to you, joining our dynamic community of 1942 subscribers across LinkedIn and Beehiiv . Your presence, whether as a first-timer or a loyal follower, is the heartbeat of this platform dedicated to unfolding narratives in tech, startups, and entrepreneurship.
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What is inside?
-????? Weekly Startup Insights From Middle East, Türkiye & Africa
-????? Global Tech Industry and Startup Trends & News This Week
-????? Episodes Recap
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Let's not wait any longer and dive into this week's rich insights!
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?? Regional Investment Highlights & Startup Insights:
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Graduation of Startups:
Fifty startups graduated from the Growth Africa Startups and Lagos Business School (LBS) training program. Selected from over 1,100 applicants, the startups will now enter a year-long mentorship phase to gain market access and funding opportunities.
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Middle Eastern Investors in Southeast Asia:
Middle Eastern investors are increasingly backing Southeast Asia-focused private equity funds, driven by the region’s rapid economic growth and the desire to diversify their investment portfolios.
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Morocco’s Startup Hub:
Morocco is emerging as a new startup hub in Africa, showing significant growth in its tech and innovation sectors, supported by initiatives like the Digital Morocco Fund and UM6B Venture Capital.
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Nvidia’s Middle East Expansion:
Nvidia is expanding into the Middle East through a partnership with Qatar’s Ooredoo to offer AI-powered GPU-as-a-Service, enhancing digital infrastructure in multiple countries.
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Connect Money’s Seed Funding:
Egyptian fintech Connect Money raised $8 million in a seed round to expand its white-label card issuing platform across Africa and the Middle East.
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Comfi’s Debt Facility:
UAE-based fintech Comfi secured a $5 million debt facility to facilitate B2B transactions across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, supporting its BNPL solutions.
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Alsaree3’s Series A Funding:
Iraq’s food delivery service Alsaree3 closed a seven-figure Series A funding round to enhance its growth and technological capabilities.
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Getir’s Investment and Restructuring:
Turkish food delivery giant Getir secured a $250 million investment from Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co., leading to a strategic restructuring and refocus on its home market.
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Abu Dhabi’s Startup Ecosystem:
Abu Dhabi’s startup ecosystem has been ranked as the fastest-growing in the MENA region, raising $1.06 billion in venture capital funding, driven by investments in FinTech, AgTech, and ClimateTech.
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South African E-commerce Boom:
South Africa’s e-commerce sector is projected to reach R400 billion by 2025, with companies like Luxity thriving through AI-driven personalized customer experiences.
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Brew Games’ Investment:
Turkish gaming startup Brew Games secured a $4 million investment to expand its team and develop new hypercasual and hybrid games.
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Hashed Ventures in Abu Dhabi:
South Korean crypto investment firm Hashed Ventures is expanding to Abu Dhabi through a partnership with Hub 71 to support South Korean crypto firms in entering the UAE market.
?Global Tech Industry and Startup Trends & News This Week
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LinkedIn co-founder's Eric Ly background checking startup, KarmaCheck, raising $45 million (Reuters)
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The EU is reportedly set to announce that Apple will be the first Big Tech company facing charges for not complying with new digital regulations (Financial Times)
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Episodes Recap:
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In this episode of “The CTO Show with Mehmet,” we delve into the fascinating world of unstructured data and its impact on the future of AI with Kirk Marple , the founder and CEO of Graphlit. With over 30 years of experience in software development, Kirk shares his journey from Microsoft to founding his own company and the vision behind Graphlit. Discover how unstructured data can unlock valuable insights for businesses and the role of knowledge graphs in enhancing AI applications.
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In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, guest Will Pemble , founder of PageLeap and Web.com , shares his journey from founding successful tech companies to re-entering the web hosting industry with PageLeap. Will discusses how his experiences led to the creation of PageLeap, a platform aiming to outperform current competitors in the crowded landing page market by focusing on superior speed, precise SEO optimization, and user-centric design. He explains the importance of building systems with scalability in mind, the evolution from physical servers to cloud computing, and how AI is leveraged to enhance content management and accessibility.
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In this episode of “The CTO Show with Mehmet,” host Mehmet Gonullu welcomes leadership development expert Thom Dennis . With over 40 years of experience, Thom shares his journey from serving in the Royal Marines to becoming a pioneer in leadership development and the founder of Serenity in Leadership. Thom discusses the concept of conscious leadership, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness, understanding personal beliefs and values, and taking responsibility for one’s actions in today’s complex business world.
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Connect & Grow with Us
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Thank You ??: Your engagement drives our shared journey forward. Here's to another week of innovation and growth!
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Best, Mehmet
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4 个月exciting updates! can't wait to dive into this week's edition. ??