INFOGRAPHIC: Startup Funding in Africa and the Middle East — Week 7, 2025
Here are the venture funding activities we tracked in the Middle East and African region this week – including Tabby, BRKZ, Raenest, Buildnow, Affinity, Taager, RasMal, Cauridor, PIESHIP, ToumAI, and LAHINT.
This week, startup funding in the Middle East and Africa saw a mix of major fintech plays, construction tech expansion, and promising seed-stage investments. While the Middle East continues to attract big-ticket funding, Africa is proving its strength in fintech and e-commerce, positioning itself as a key player in digital finance and trade.
Taking the lead this week is Tabby, the Middle East’s BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) giant, closing a massive $160 million Series E from new and existing investors, including Blue Pool Capital and Hassana Investment Company as it gears up for a potential IPO. This move reinforces Tabby’s dominance in the region’s alternative finance space and signals investor confidence in the Middle East’s growing fintech ecosystem.
Following closely, Saudi Arabia's BRKZ secured a $17 million Series A extension from notable investors, including BECO Capital, Aramco’s Waed, and 9900 Capital, among others, for its construction tech platform. Meanwhile, Raenest, a Nigerian-owned financial platform catering to freelancers and remote workers, raised $11 million in Series A to expand its presence in the U.S. and Egypt, tapping into the cross-border payment boom.
In another construction tech win, Buildnow, a Saudi-based contech landed a $9.7 million investment, led by STV, to drive efficiency in the sector. Ghana’s fintech Affinity also made headlines with an $8 million seed round from European VCs to scale digital banking in a market dominated by mobile money—a strong indicator of fintech’s continued relevance across Africa.
What's interesting, though, is the e-commerce sector seeing sizeable financing, with Egypt’s Taager raising a $6.75 million pre-Series B round to boost social commerce in MENA to help small businesses leverage online selling more effectively. Not to be left out, Saudi fintech RasMal closed a $4.8 million pre-Series A, further cementing Saudi Arabia’s position as a fintech powerhouse.
Aside from Affinity, other early-stage startups that received funding include Ivorian fintech Cauridor, securing $3.5 million in seed funding to expand its payment network, and Saudi's logistics startup PIESHIP, which raised $2.1 million in a seed round led by Nama Ventures—further fueling the growth of logistics and e-commerce support in the region.
Rounding up the funding this week, Moroccan AI startup ToumAI landed $1 million to pioneer next-gen customer experience solutions. Similarly, Saudi e-services platform LAHINT closed a $1 million pre-seed at LEAP 2025, indicating strong early interest in its business model.
With fintech still leading the funding wave, investor confidence in Africa and the Middle East remains strong across various sectors as they scale and venture into new markets. The upcoming months, however, will be crucial in determining how they navigate growth, competition, and regional expansion.
