MEA Tech & Startup Digest: Issue #82

Welcome to the 82nd 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 2049 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.

?What is inside?

-????? Weekly Startup Insights From Middle East, Türkiye & Africa

-????? Episodes Recap

-????? Useful Resources

?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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Mergers & Acquisitions

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• CVC Capital Partners, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and GIC bid for Deutsche Bahn's logistics division, Schenker, valuing it at around €14-16 billion. read more
• Kuwait-based proptech Sakan acquires Qatari real estate platform Hapondo. read more
• Cairo-based Maxab and Nairobi-based Wasoko complete merger, forming Africa's largest B2B ecommerce network for informal retailers. read more

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Funding Rounds

• UAE-based Powder Beauty raises undisclosed pre-Series A round. read more
• UAE-based Web3 streaming platform myco raises $10 million in Series A. read more
• UAE-based Web3 services provider Verofax secures $3 million in bridge funding. read more
• Nigerian B2B payment firm Waza raises $8 million in latest funding round. read more
• Rwandan electric motorcycle company Ampersand secures additional $2 million in Series A extension. read more

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New Funds & Investments

• Gulf investors launch $200 million Waad Investment firm to support regional startups. read more
• Saudi Arabia's Hades Financial readies $750 million for India investment. read more
• Proparco backs Rubyx with €400,000 loan to boost microfinance and startups across Africa. read more

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Startup Ecosystem Developments

• New venture capital signals resilience in Africa's startups despite overall funding drop. read more
• Entlaq and Wamda release Egyptian Entrepreneurship Sector Diagnostics Report for H1 2024. read more
• Turkey's startup investments surge to $558.8 million in Q2 2024. read more
• TDF Grow Accelerator Programme celebrates graduation of 15 startups in Saudi Arabia. read more

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IPO News

• Delivery Hero announces plans to list Talabat on Dubai Financial Market in Q4 2024. read more

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Company Updates

• Turkish boat rental platform Viravira.co completes fourth investment round. read more

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New Initiatives

• Mastercard launches Lighthouse acceleration program in Turkey to support fintech startups. read more
• Tenmou invests in Bahraini startups Tajweed and Travelage. read more

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???Episodes Recap:?

#379 Emerging Market Fintech: Nader Abdelrazik’s Insights on Growth, Innovation, and Challenges

In this episode of?The CTO Show with Mehmet, we are joined by Nader Abdelrazik , the CEO and co-founder of MoneyHash, a pioneering payment orchestration platform in the emerging markets. Nader shares his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, detailing how his diverse background in economics and engineering has shaped his strategic approach to building a successful fintech company.

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#380 Halftime to AGI: Stefan Fehr on the Future of AI in Content and Beyond

In this episode of?The CTO Show with Mehmet, we dive deep into the transformative world of AI with Stefan Fehr , an entrepreneur who has been at the forefront of leveraging AI for content creation. Stefan shares his journey, beginning in 2019, when he first used AI to generate text for websites, leading to significant increases in traffic. This experience inspired him to develop a tool that drastically reduces the time required to create high-quality blog articles, optimizing them for Google’s algorithms. His platform, Modern IQs, is designed to automate numerous processes, from plagiarism checks to image resizing, allowing users to generate optimized content in just seconds.

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#381 Combatting Digital Identity Threats: Insights from NameTag’s CEO Aaron Painter

In this episode of?The CTO Show with Mehmet, we’re joined by Aaron Painter , CEO and Founder of NameTag. Aaron shares his journey from working at Microsoft for 14 years to founding NameTag, a company dedicated to securing digital identities. He discusses the growing threats of identity theft and social engineering, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a surge in online account takeovers.

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?? Useful Resouces:?

-????? iAccel Gulf Accelerator: iAccel Gulf Business Incubator (“iAccel GBI”) is a Global Accelerator Network (GAN)?certified accelerator that aims to help early-stage tech startups turn their innovative ideas into successful businesses in MENA Region.

-????? Wows Global: This investment portal offers you the tools and support to connect with investors, manage your stakeholder relations, and navigate your financing requirements effectively. Start by listing your company and get guided ?towards your financing goals. Join and gain the attention of the biggest investors in the ASEAN & MENA regions.

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Connect & Grow with Us

• Share Your Story ???: Got insights in tech, startups, or entrepreneurship? Reach out and let's feature your journey on "The CTO Show With Mehmet."
• Support & Collaborate ????: Love our content? Support us here and keep the insights coming.
• Spread the Word ??: Know a tech & startup enthusiast? Invite them to our community for weekly doses of innovation and insight.

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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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