The CTO Show with Mehmet - Week in Review: Dec 10, 2023

December 10, 2023

Welcome to the 44th edition of "The CTO Show With Mehmet" Weekly Recap Newsletter! If you're new here, a warm welcome to our dynamic community of 1557 subscribers across LinkedIn and Substack. Whether you're here for the first time or a loyal follower, your engagement is the lifeblood of this unique platform dedicated to tech, startups, and entrepreneurship.

What is inside?

-      Weekly Startup Insights From Middle East, Türkiye & Africa

-      Startup Investments Opportunities Spotlight

-      Recommended Resources and Tools

-      Episodes Recap

Without further ado, let's dive into this week's multifaceted insights!

Weekly Startups Insights:

 Record-Breaking Funding in MENA Region

  • Highlights: In November 2023, MENA startups hit a new milestone, securing $764 million in funding - the highest in a single month this year. This surge, attributed to mega-rounds, indicates growing investor confidence in the MENA startup ecosystem.

 Cynoia's West African Expansion

  • Country: Tunisia

  • Sector: Team Collaboration Tech

  • Highlights: Tunisian startup Cynoia raised $930,000 to expand into West Africa. The funding, led by 216 Capital, will enhance their productivity-focused platform, featuring communication, file sharing, and project management tools.

 Partment: Egyptian Startup Goes Global

  • Country: Egypt

  • Sector: Prop-Tech

  • Highlights: Partment, pioneering fractional property ownership, extends its footprint to Greece, offering young investors similar opportunities in the Greek real estate market after its success in Egypt.

 Hub71+ ClimateTech: A Sustainable Future

  • Country: UAE

  • Sector: Climate Technology

  • Highlights: Abu Dhabi based Hub71 introduces Hub71+ ClimateTech, fostering global startups developing decarbonization technologies. Announced at COP28, this initiative aligns with net zero ambitions.

 Omniful's Impressive Seed Funding

  • Country: Saudi Arabia, UAE

  • Sector: E-commerce and Supply Chain

  • Highlights: Omniful secures $5.85 million in seed funding for supply chain and e-commerce enhancement. Led by VentureSouq, the funding round saw wide investor participation.

 Mtor: Driving Forward in Auto Market

  • Country: Egypt

  • Sector: E-commerce (Automotive Parts)

  • Highlights: Mtor raises $2.8 million in a pre-seed round led by Algebra Ventures, advancing the online automotive spare parts marketplace.

 Amini: Kenyan Startup's Climate Focus

  • Country: Kenya

  • Sector: Climate Tech

  • Highlights: Amini, a climate tech pioneer, bags $4 million in seed funding led by Samurai Incubate Africa, aiming to drive environmental sustainability.

 Startupbootcamp AfriTech's Investor Syndicate

  • Country: Whole Africa

  • Sector: Various Tech

  • Highlights: AfriTech launches an investor syndicate for African tech startups, targeting FinTech, AgriTech, InsureTech, and HealthTech sectors to bridge funding gaps.

 BasiGo's Electric Leap in Kenya

  • Country: Kenya

  • Sector: Electric Mobility

  • Highlights: BasiGo raises a $5m debt facility from NEFCO for local electric bus production, advancing eco-friendly transportation in Kenya.

 SuperGears: Turkey's Aspiring Unicorn

  • Country: Turkiye

  • Sector: Mobile Gaming

  • Highlights: SuperGears aims to elevate "Racing Kingdom" to global fame, targeting a $1 billion valuation by 2027, marking a significant shift from PC to mobile gaming.

 Tappi: Digitizing African SMEs

  • Country: Kenya

  • Sector: SME Digitalization

  • Highlights: Tappi secures $1.5 million in pre-seed funding, offering a digital platform for SMEs to manage operations efficiently in Africa.

 Blink: Enhancing Saudi Arabia's F&B Sector

  • Country: Saudi Arabia

  • Sector: SaaS

  • Highlights: Blink completes a $2.1 million Seed round to support restaurants in MENA and Pakistan, focusing on direct online ordering systems.

 🔍 Conclusion

The startup ecosystem in the Middle East, North Africa, and Africa has seen significant growth and investment, with startups raising groundbreaking amounts of funding. This surge is primarily due to intense investor interest and investment mega-rounds. The sectors benefiting majorly from this include climate tech, e-commerce, digitisation of small and medium businesses, and mobile gaming.