SMEs in MENA, South Asia raise capital, expand

SMEs in MENA, South Asia raise capital, expand
Cairo-born quick commerce startup Rabbit has expanded its operations to Saudi Arabia by opening a regional headquarters in Riyadh. (Supplied)
Short Url
Updated 13 April 2025
Follow

SMEs in MENA, South Asia raise capital, expand

SMEs in MENA, South Asia raise capital, expand
  • Pakistani fintech Haball raises $52 million to scale Shariah-compliant supply chain finance and payment solutions
  • Founded to address credit gap in Pakistan’s SME ecosystem, Haball enables businesses to access Islamic finance products

RIYADH: Startups across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia are securing fresh capital and expanding into new markets, signaling strong investor confidence.

Saudi-based business-to-business marketplace Sary has announced it will merge with Bangladesh’s commerce platform ShopUp to create the SILQ Group, a newly formed entity aiming to transform cross-border trade across South Asia and the Gulf.

The merger is supported by a $110 million funding package comprising an equity investment and a financing facility dedicated to SILQ Financial, the group’s financial services arm.

The funding round includes participation from a broad investor base, led by Sanabil Investments, and joined by Valar Ventures, Flourish Ventures and STV, as well as MSA Capital, VSQ and Rocketship VC. Wafra Investment, Peak XV and Prosus were also involved, along with Tiger Global, Endeavor Catalyst and Raed Ventures.

Qatar Development Bank also participated as a new investor, as SILQ sets its sights on establishing a significant presence in the Qatari market.

This strategic alliance signals a significant step toward deeper commercial integration between the two regions, aiming to serve micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises with improved access to global supply chains and embedded financial tools.

Founded in 2018 by Mohammed Al-Dossary and Khaled Al-Siari, Sary connects small retailers and merchants with manufacturers and lenders across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region.

ShopUp, founded in 2016 by Afeef Zaman, offers similar services in Bangladesh, acting as a crucial link between mills, brands, and neighborhood retailers.

The newly formed SILQ Group combines these complementary regional networks, technology stacks, and market expertise. 




Saudi-based business-to-business marketplace Sary has announced it will merge with Bangladesh’s commerce platform ShopUp to create the SILQ Group. (Supplied)

“Through this merger, we’re entering what’s set to become one of the world’s largest trade corridors — projected to reach $682 billion,” said Zaman, now CEO of SILQ Group.

“We’re in the front seat to serve some of the most exciting, fast-growing economies that are set to shape global consumption in the coming decades, giving them greater access to products from around the world.” He added SILQ will focus on eliminating friction in the B2B supply chain and enabling MSMEs with better technology and financial inclusion.

Al-Dossary, now CEO of SILQ Financial, said: “By merging our strengths, we’re not just expanding our reach — we’re revolutionizing how digital commerce serves Gulf’s merchants and South Asia manufacturers.”

He added: “This alliance brings together the best of both worlds — deep regional expertise and world-class technology to empower every business in our ecosystem where financial services are a cornerstone.”

Language AI platform STUCK? secures six-figure pre-seed round

Saudi-based artificial intelligence startup STUCK?, which offers real-time language support for English and Arabic content, has raised a six-figure pre-seed investment round to advance its product and market reach.

The funding was led by the UK-based Mena Tech Fund, with participation from the KAUST Innovation Fund and several angel investors from Saudi Arabia.

Founded in 2022 by Asmaa Naga, STUCK? delivers AI-powered language assistance to content teams, offering contextual help in writing, editing and translation.

The company aims to remove language barriers for both native and non-native speakers operating in bilingual business environments.

STUCK? provides services via an AI-first platform that combines natural language processing with generative tools optimized for business communication and brand tone consistency.

With this latest round, STUCK? plans to scale its engineering capabilities.

Rabbit launches in Saudi Arabia with Riyadh regional HQ

Cairo-born quick commerce startup Rabbit has expanded its operations to Saudi Arabia by opening a regional headquarters in Riyadh.

The move marks Rabbit’s first major international market entry, as it looks to replicate its rapid delivery model — offering grocery and everyday essentials in under 20 minutes — within the Kingdom’s growing e-commerce landscape.

Founded in 2021 by Ahmed Yousry, Walid Shabana, Ismail Hafezz and Tarek El-Geresy, Rabbit leverages a network of dark stores and a proprietary logistics platform to optimize ultra-fast last-mile delivery.

In Egypt, Rabbit has positioned itself as a leader in q-commerce with its tech-driven approach, and it now seeks to replicate this success in the Gulf by localizing its services for Saudi consumers. 

We pride ourselves on being a hyperlocal company, bringing our cutting-edge tech and experience to transform the grocery shopping experience for Saudi households.

Ahmad Yousry, Rabbit co-founder and CEO

Rabbit’s expansion is supported by funding from investors including Lorax Capital Partners, Global Ventures, Raed Ventures, and Beltone Venture Capital.

Existing backers Global Founders Capital, Goodwater Capital, Hub71, Simple Capital and Foundation Ventures have also reaffirmed their commitment to the company’s growth strategy.

“We are delighted to announce Rabbit’s expansion into the Kingdom,” said co-founder and CEO Ahmad Yousry.

“We pride ourselves on being a hyperlocal company, bringing our cutting-edge tech and experience to transform the grocery shopping experience for Saudi households and delivering the best products — especially local favorites — in just 20 minutes. We’re building Rabbit Saudi for Saudis by Saudi hands.”

Sellou raises seed funding round at $3m valuation

Bahrain-based social commerce startup Sellou has closed a seed funding round at a $3 million valuation, aimed at scaling its video-powered marketplace platform across the MENA region.

Founded by Salman Al-Khalifa, Sellou allows users to create short, interactive videos to showcase and sell a wide range of products — ranging from handmade goods to general merchandise.

The platform is part of a rising wave of social commerce innovation, particularly in the Middle East, where mobile-first consumer behavior is driving the adoption of new retail formats.

Sellou’s app enables sellers to build storefronts with personalized video content and engage buyers through direct messaging, streamlining the e-commerce experience for both sides.

With fresh capital, Sellou intends to invest in expanding its engineering team, enhancing creator tools and entering new markets across the region.

Rentify raises $500k to grow rental payment platform

UAE-based proptech and fintech company Rentify has raised $500,000 in seed funding to accelerate the development of its rental payment and management platform.

The startup was founded in 2025 by Rashed Hareb and Rajneel Kumar with a vision to digitize rental transactions and improve transparency between tenants and landlords.

Rentify enables tenants to manage rental installments through a secure platform.

The company reports that over $408 million worth of property rentals have already been registered on the platform.

The seed funding will be used to further scale operations, integrate more properties across the Emirates, and introduce new fintech features including credit scoring and embedded finance solutions for tenants.

PayTic raises $4m to expand African operations

Morocco-based fintech startup PayTic has secured $4 million in funding to support its expansion into new African markets.

The round was led by AfricInvest, with participation from Build Ventures, Axian Group, Mistral, Island Capital Partner, and Concrete.

Founded in 2020 by Imad Boumahdi, PayTic focuses on automating operational processes for card issuers and banks, such as reconciliation, chargeback management, and regulatory reporting.

The capital injection will enable PayTic to grow its presence in both North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

Haball raises $52m to grow Shariah-compliant supply chain financing

Pakistan-based fintech firm Haball has raised $52 million to scale its Shariah-compliant supply chain finance and payment solutions.

The round includes $5 million in equity and $47 million in strategic financing.

Zayn VC and Meezan Bank led the investment, with the capital earmarked for growth in Pakistan and expansion into the Middle East, starting with Saudi Arabia later this year.

Founded to address the credit gap in Pakistan’s SME ecosystem, Haball enables businesses to access Islamic finance products for inventory and procurement needs.

“Supply chain finance in Pakistan is nascent but is expected to be worth over $9 billion; driven by the severe financing gap faced by the country’s SMEs — less than 5 percent can access financing from commercial banks,” the company said in a statement.

The funding will allow Haball to introduce new services tailored to Islamic finance users, integrate further with enterprise resource planning systems, and partner with banks to onboard new business clients.


While the world watches Gaza, here is what’s happening in the West Bank

While the world watches Gaza, here is what’s happening in the West Bank
Updated 31 sec ago
Follow

While the world watches Gaza, here is what’s happening in the West Bank

While the world watches Gaza, here is what’s happening in the West Bank
  • With the world’s attention focused on Gaza, Israeli military operations in the West Bank grew in size, frequency and intensity
  • The army launched the stepped-up campaign to counter what it says is a growing militant threat
With the world’s attention focused on Gaza, Israeli military operations in the West Bank grew in size, frequency and intensity. The army launched the stepped-up campaign to counter what it says is a growing militant threat.
Here’s a look at where things stand, with data collected by the UN’s humanitarian office and Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement tracking group.
Palestinian deaths by Israeli fire have surged
Since the war in Gaza erupted, the majority of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank have been shot during military raids in villages and towns.
Israel says the operations are needed to stamp out militancy. Many of the dead were militants killed in clashes, or youths throwing stones or firebombs.
But Palestinians and rights groups say scores of uninvolved civilians have been caught in the crossfire. Of those killed since the Hamas attack, at least 182 have been children under 18, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, some of whom Israel says were involved in stone-throwing and militancy. Rights groups accuse Israel of using excessive force.
Israeli offensives evicted 40,000 from refugee camps
Israel is staging a massive offensive across four major refugee camps in the north of the West Bank. The raids, at their height, pushed 40,000 people from their homes. Many are now sheltering with relatives in neighboring villages, others racking up debt renting apartments while they wait to return.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said those displaced will not be allowed to go back for at least a year.
Forces have ripped up roads, destroyed infrastructure and demolished hundreds of homes. Israel says it is dismantling terrorist infrastructure. But civilian homes have also been destroyed.
In another escalation, the military has resumed previously rare tactics, like drone strikes, in these densely populated areas.
Settler attacks on Palestinians occur almost daily
Settler attacks causing injury or death to Palestinians surged in the wake of the Hamas attack. For Palestinians living in small Bedouin villages in areas under full Israeli control, the attacks have become a near-daily occurrence as settlers — emboldened by Israel’s pro-settler government— build new unauthorized outposts on nearby hilltops.
Israel says it opposes settler violence and blames it all on a small, extremist fringe. Palestinians say that the Israeli army does little to protect them, and that the attacks are part of a systematic attempt to expel them from their land.
Israeli outposts spring up across territory
Settlers have established about 80 new outposts since the war began. Rights groups say the outposts, often populated by extremist activists, are the main drivers of violence against Palestinians. The tiny unauthorized land grabs are tolerated and even encouraged by Israel, which over the years has converted many outposts into authorized settlements as it cements its hold on the territory and moves to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israel’s government, dominated by settler leaders and supporters, has established 13 new settlements since the war began, at least five of which originally sprung up as outposts. That brings the total number of settlements to 140.
Most of the international community considers settlements illegal, though US President Donald Trump has supported them.
Checkpoints choke Palestinian movement
Meanwhile, movement between Palestinian towns and cities has only grown more difficult. New checkpoints have further divided the territory and created choke points the Israeli army can shut off on a whim.
Crossings that had been open 24/7 started closing during morning and evening rush hours, disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and turning once-routine commutes into hours-long journeys.
As the war in Gaza continues and the West Bank seethes, Palestinians say life is only growing more difficult.

China considers exempting some goods from US tariffs

China considers exempting some goods from US tariffs
The new building of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. (AFP)
Updated 22 min 46 sec ago
Follow

China considers exempting some goods from US tariffs

China considers exempting some goods from US tariffs
  • A Ministry of Commerce taskforce is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs
  • Bloomberg first reported China was considering tariff exemptions on Friday.

DUBAI: China is considering exempting some US imports from its 125 percent tariffs and is asking businesses to provide lists of goods that could be eligible in the biggest sign yet that Beijing is worried about the economic fallout from its trade war with Washington.
A Ministry of Commerce taskforce is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Financial news magazine Caijing reported on Friday citing sources that Beijing was preparing to include eight semiconductor-related items, although no memory chips.
A list of 131 categories of products eligible for exemptions was circulating widely on social media and among businesses and trade groups on Friday. Reuters could not verify the list, whose items ranged from vaccines and chemicals to jet engines.
Repeated phone calls to China’s customs department were not answered. Customs and the Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to faxed questions.
Bloomberg first reported China was considering tariff exemptions on Friday.
The exemptions signal that, like Washington, Beijing is deeply concerned about the economic pain rippling across the country as the world’s two largest economies decouple.
While Washington has said the current status quo is economically untenable and already offered tariff exemptions to some electronic goods, China has repeatedly said it is willing to fight to the end unless the US lifts its tariffs.
But beneath the bombast, China’s economy is entering the trade war flirting with deflation. Demand is weak and consumer spending and sentiment have never properly recovered from the pandemic levels.
The government is pushing tariff-hit exporters to pivot to local markets, but companies say profits are lower, demand weaker and customers less reliable.
Exemptions are a bigger gesture of support, although by allowing some trade to resume, they also reduce the pain for the US economy and take some pressure off the White House.


US says ‘closely’ monitoring situation after attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir

US says ‘closely’ monitoring situation after attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
Updated 28 min 27 sec ago
Follow

US says ‘closely’ monitoring situation after attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir

US says ‘closely’ monitoring situation after attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • The attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, has once again brought India and Pakistan to the brink of another war
  • The UN has urged both nations to show ‘maximum restraint’ as the nuclear-armed rivals announced tit-for-tat measures

ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) is “closely” monitoring the situation after an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, the State Department said on Thursday, as both India and Pakistan teeter on the brink of another conflict.
India and Pakistan have come close to a war as the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors downgraded diplomatic and trade relations, closed the main border crossing and revoked visas for each other’s nationals in tit-for-tat moves this week.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue and punish the gunmen responsible for killing 26 civilians in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam on Tuesday, accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism.” Pakistan has denied it was behind the attack, claimed by a previously unknown militant group.
“As we all know, it’s a rapidly changing situation and we are monitoring it closely,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a press briefing.
The statement came after Modi vowed to hunt down the gunmen responsible for killing 26 civilians in Pahalgam and the Indian police identified two of the three fugitive gunmen as Pakistani.
“I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” Modi said, in his first speech since Tuesday’s attack in the Himalayan region. “We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”
Islamabad has called the attempts to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack “frivolous” and vowed to respond to any Indian action.
“Any threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures in all domains,” a Pakistani government statement said.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the territory in full but governing separate portions of it. The Muslim-majority region has been the cause of two of their three wars and also witnessed a bloody insurgency against Indian rule.
Bruce, however, declined to comment on the status of the disputed region.
“We, of course, are not now taking a position on the status of Kashmir or of Jammu either,” she said.
Also on Thursday, the United Nations urged both India and Pakistan to show “maximum restraint” as the nuclear-armed rivals imposed tit-for-tat diplomatic measures.


At least 5 dead in Thai police plane crash

At least 5 dead in Thai police plane crash
Updated 57 min 36 sec ago
Follow

At least 5 dead in Thai police plane crash

At least 5 dead in Thai police plane crash
  • The plane was conducting a test flight to prepare for parachute training in Hua Hin district before it crashed around 8 a.m.

BANGKOK: A small police plane crashed into the sea near a popular beach town in Thailand, killing at least five people on board, officials said.
The plane was conducting a test flight to prepare for parachute training in Hua Hin district before it crashed around 8 a.m., said Royal Thai Police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong.
Officials did not immediately share the model of the propeller plane, but photos from the scene appear to show a Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter. The plane crashed near Hua Hin Airport, said the public relations department of Prachuab Kiri Khan province.
The photos show the plane in the sea about 100 meters offshore. The body of the plane appeared to be broken in two.
There were six people on board, all police officers, Archayon said. He initially said that five people died at the scene and one died at the hospital, but later revised the death toll to five, saying the officer who was sent to the hospital remained in critical condition but alive.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Archayon said officials are gathering evidence including data from the plane’s black box.


Djokovic flying the flag for the ‘older guys’ amid generational shift

Djokovic flying the flag for the ‘older guys’ amid generational shift
Updated 25 April 2025
Follow

Djokovic flying the flag for the ‘older guys’ amid generational shift

Djokovic flying the flag for the ‘older guys’ amid generational shift
  • With the retirements of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray, Djokovic is the last member of the “Big Four” still standing and the Serb said he wanted to continue giving to the sport

Novak Djokovic acknowledges the generational shift in tennis that has brought a new crop of players into the limelight but the 24-time Grand Slam champion says he has no intention of quietly fading into the background.
The 37-year-old won three out of the four major titles in 2023 but has not been able to reproduce that kind of form since, being shut out of the game’s biggest tournaments last year as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz took two apiece.
With the retirements of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray, Djokovic is the last member of the “Big Four” still standing and the Serb said he wanted to continue giving to the sport.
“The last 20 years were dominated mostly by the four of us and when three of my biggest rivals retired you can feel there’s a shift,” Djokovic said at the Madrid Open.
“Not only in terms of the generations of players (who now have) the main focus and attention on them, but it takes a bit of time for people to accept the fact that Roger and Rafa are not playing, and Murray, and one day myself.
“But I’m still trying to stay and represent the older guys, the older generation. Hopefully that brings the positive effect to the tournaments and to the tour itself,” he added.
“That’s also one of the reasons why I keep on playing, because I feel like it also helps tennis still thrive on the attention and crowd coming in and watching tournaments and getting interested.”
Djokovic, who is eyeing his 100th tour-level title before the French Open starts on May 25, said no player would ever be bigger than tennis.
“The sport should outlive everyone, the sport will outlive everyone, and it’s more important than anybody individually,” he added.
“We’re all here in the service of the sport.”