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Top Five MENA Venture Capital Investments in Q3 2019

31 October 2019

When compared to the second quarter of 2019, VC investments did not surpass the publicly disclosed total amount in the third quarter, where the top five investments in Q3 amounted to $27 million as opposed to $99.1 million in Q2. However announced investments in the third quarter saw a diverse collection of countries claiming the top five spots across the MENA region, with e-commerce and transportation startups claiming the top VC deals.

1.Nana Direct

A KSA-based digital grocery platform, Nana Direct managed to raise $6.6 million in its series A round back in August, allowing it to clinch the number one spot in this quarter and on this list. Investors who led the funding were Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and Impact46, in addition to Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), Watar Partners and Wamda Capital. Nana Direct’s plans for the substantial capital involves accelerating its growth, bringing new stores on board and developing its business relations in addition to building its growing team.

2. MaxAB

Egypt’s MaxAB is a B2B e-commerce platform which also identifies as an online grocery marketplace, where the rising startup secured seed funding of $6.2 million last September. The second largest deal in Q3 was also one of the largest ever seed rounds raised by an Egyptian startup. Investments were co-led by 4DX Ventures, Endure Capital and Beco Capital, in addition to participations from 500 Startups, Outlierz Ventures and other local investors. MaxAB intends to use the funds to reach 50% of the Egyptian population within the next two years, before considering expansion plans in North Africa.

3.Washmen

The dry cleaning and laundry service startup based in the UAE managed to raise $6.2 million during a series B round last July. Led by Russia-based AddVenture and in conjunction with Henkel, Cedar Mundi Ventures, B&Y Partners and UAE-based Clara Ventures. Washmen stated that they intend to use the investment to amplify their operations in the United Arab Emirates while enhancing their tech development office in Lebanon.

4. TemTem

A transport app from Algeria, TemTem raised $4 million in September’s series A round - the largest Series A investment raised by an Algerian startup - which was led by Tell Venture Automotive and other unannounced investors. They intend launch new services and boost growth with their newly acquired funds.

5. Ecomz

Lebanese e-commerce management platform Ecomz received $4 million in a Series A round back in July 2019, led by Cedar Mundi Ventures and in participation with iSME Lebanon and BLC Bank. Ecomz plans to utilize the funds for integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into its platform with a secondary goal of expanding their reach.

Tags

Nana Direct, MaxAB, Washmen, TemTem, Ecomz, Saudi Arabia, KSA, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Algeria, Lebanon, AI, ML, startups, VC, Venture Capital, MENA