Here's the MENA tech news you missed last week 👇
🌍 Expansion
💸 Revolut is reportedly planning to expand into the GCC, applying to become an electronic-money institution and offer remittances in the UAE while exploring opportunities in Saudi Arabia. The British fintech is hiring key regional staff, including a head of finance and head of legal, and aims to build a truly global bank, according to CEO Nik Storonsky.
🛵 Meituan's Keeta has officially launched its beta phase in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's market is currently dominated by HungerStation | هنقرستيشن, owned by Delivery Hero, and the profitable Jahez International Company. Keeta, backed by Meituan, is making a bold entry, reportedly allocating 1 billion SAR ($266 million) for marketing and planning to undercut competitors with lower commission fees — expected to be 10-12%, compared to HungerStation’s 18-25% and Jahez’s 12-13%.
🤝 Acquisitions
🏍️ Mubadala has officially submitted an application to Turkey's antitrust regulator to acquire full control of Getir, the Turkish-based delivery platform. In June, Getir announced plans to split its operations into two distinct entities. The first will focus on food and grocery delivery within Turkey and be majority-owned by Mubadala, an existing investor. The second entity will manage Getir's other assets, including Getir Drive and the ride-hailing service BiTaksi.
🤝 Entlaq Holding, an Egypt-based company supporting entrepreneurs, has acquired a stake in the Egyptian foodtech Brotinni for an undisclosed value. Founded in 2020 by Dalia abou Omar, Brotinni is a dark store that allows customers to buy their needs of meat and poultry online. The new investment will allow Brotinni to expand its operations within Egypt and other regional markets. In 2022, Brotinni raised a $600,000 Seed round, led by Innlife investments.
🌺 Acasia Group has been acquired by Hawaii-based VC firm Sultan Ventures, led by Omar S. Sultan and Tarik Sultan. Founded in 2011 by Aly El Shalakany as Cairo Angels, Acasia grew from a grassroots angel syndicate into offering startup programs, incubators, and competitions in partnership with organisations like EG Bank and the World Bank. Sultan Ventures, known for its XLR8® accelerator, has a track record of scaling U.S. startups and now aims to bring its venture acceleration model to MENA.
📈 VC
🇪🇬 Egypt’s ITIDA, Telecom Egypt, Applied Innovation Center, and Tsinghua Unigroup signed an MoU during the China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit in Beijing. They will co-launch a $300 million technology investment fund focused on AI and semiconductor innovation, with Tsinghua contributing 60-70% of the capital.
🤖 AI...
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