#funding

Co-Founders Urban Company

Urban Company raises $255m in Series F funding round

Founded in November 2014, the company with operations in several countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia is now valued at $2.1bn

Crypto firms got more funding last quarter than in all of 2020

The funding surge is happening as Bitcoin hits record highs

Kuwait’s state oil company to seek up to $20bn of funding

Oil accounts for 90 per cent of Kuwait’s revenue

Pure Harvest Smart Farms

UAE-based Pure Harvest Smart Farms raises $60m in new funding round

Shuaa Capital led a $50m structured sukuk for Pure Harvest co-investing with Franklin Templeton and Sancta Capital

Flat6Labs Bahrain graduates eight startups in latest funding cycle

Startups receive a total of $250,000 in investments, head to demo day

Sharjah’s Sheraa sets up new startup studio to support entrepreneurs

The studio, which will work on a revenue sharing model, will support founders in the early stages of setting up their businesses

Bloom Education receives Dhs53m funding from Abu Dhabi’s ADFD

Bloom Education beneficiary of ADFD’s Dhs1bn support programme

HR technology firm Darwinbox raises $15m in new funding, eyes Middle East expansion

Investment round led Salesforce Ventures, with Sequoia and Lightspeed participating

Saudi tech startup Foodics raises $20m in Series B funding

The funding will enable the startup to grow its share in existing markets, ramp up international expansion, as well as expand its fintech offering

UAE-based P2P app Ziina joins Y-Combinator accelerator programme

Ziina also announces new seed funding from US and MENA venture capital funds

Prince Khaled’s KBW Ventures joins $6.2m funding round for US biotech startup

TurtleTree Labs produces milk using cell-based technology

Bidayatech takes novel approach to startup funding in MENA

Backers receive non-monetary rewards in return for backing a startup fundraising campaign

Aramco turns to bonds to help fund $75bn dividend

The yield on Aramco’s $3bn of bonds due in 2029 has dropped to 2.09 per cent from 3.04 per cent at the start of the year

Bahrain

Bahrain boosts access to funding for SMEs, startups

Changes in law allows small enterprises to fundraise via convertible notes and employee shares schemes

Dubai-based Sweetheart Kitchen raises €15m in new funding

Virtual kitchen brand to expand its number of brands by five

Abu Dhabi issues $5bn multi-tranche, 50-year bond

The 50-year tranche is the longest term for a bond issued by a GCC sovereign issuer

Prince Khaled’s KBW Ventures invests in ethical pet food brand

KBW Ventures joins funding round for US-based Bond Pet Foods

cartlow

Digital logistics firm FarEye raises $13m in new funding

FarEye counts Emirates Post and Landmark Group as customers

Regional startups on a ‘growth’ trajectory amid Covid-19 crisis

While the pandemic may have rattled industries, the regional startup ecosystem remains resilient

Dubai cloud kitchen platform iKcon secures $10m funding

iKcon currently operates ten cloud kitchens across the UAE

What is the current state of the UAE’s startup ecosystem?

Despite the Covid-19 crisis, here’s why this is a good time to start a business in the UAE, opines Mana Al Suwaidi, executive chairman, Startegi Advisors