Weekly Market Highlights

‍ 2nd of April 2026

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) issued an updated “Oversight Framework for Payment Systems and Their Operators,” replacing the previous framework. It realigns the rules with the Kingdom’s Payments Law and its implementing regulations, clarifies supervisory scope and methodology, and sets out oversight obligations for payment systems and their operators in line with international standards.       

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)has started officially licensing fintech firms to offer open banking services after they completed the regulatory sandbox phase. The move is intended to boost innovation, improve financial transaction efficiency, expand inclusion by letting customers securely share financial data with regulated providers, and strengthen bank–fintech partnerships, all under a secure framework as part of Saudi Vision 2030’s National Fintech Strategy.

The “People of Data – Sharks Edition” summit in Cairo brought together tech leaders, AI experts, and investors to create a practical AI roadmap for Egypt’s economy focused on moving beyond hype to real implementation. Discussions centred on using AI as a “virtual colleague,” boosting private sector leadership in adoption, and positioning Egypt to compete globally, with organizers aiming to grow the community into a regional AI platform linking capital and technology.

‍ Ninja, a Saudi quick‑commerce unicorn that generated about $1 billion in 2025 revenue and raised $250 million at a $1.5 b valuation, is exploring a Riyadh IPO to capitalize on strong growth and investor interest, potentially reviving Saudi capital markets even as regional tensions persist.

Phoenix Venture Partners has completed the third close of its debut fund, the Phoenix Venture Partners Innovation Fund (PVPIF), bringing in institutional, family office, and high‑net‑worth investors from the US, Europe, and the Gulf for backing early‑stage tech startups across fintech, healthtech, edtech, mobility, agrifood, energy and consumer sectors, and plans to continue raising before its final close in October 2026.

GAGA raised a $2.5 million pre‑Series a round led by Phoenix Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to about $4.2 million. The Saudi‑based edtech platform offers live, interactive online learning for students aged 4–18 across 1,000+ programs and will use the capital to expand its teacher network, enhance technology, and scale Arabic educational content in the Kingdom.

zypl.ai closed a $5.5 million bridge round at an $80 million valuation, led by Carbide Ventures with support from investor Shukhrat Ibragimov, to fund global expansion of its synthetic data‑driven AI credit scoring platform for financial institutions. The UAE‑based company’s proprietary AI model (zGAN) and no‑code tools aim to help banks improve predictive decisioning under volatile conditions while speeding deployment across markets.

GoSwap secured seed backing from Azur Innovation Fund to scale its battery‑swapping network for electric scooters across urban centres. The startup’s “battery‑as‑a‑service” model lets riders swap batteries in ~10 seconds, lowering operating costs and aiming to accelerate EV adoption; funds will be used to expand swap infrastructure, improve vehicle compatibility and build fleet management tools for broader rollout in Moroccan cities and North Africa.

Blackstone led a $250 million strategic investment in UAE‑based payments and data intelligence platform ADGT, a newly formed infrastructure player integrating digital wallets, real‑time payment rails, identity management and compliance to support regulated digital markets across the UAE, MENA and global corridors. The backing comes alongside partners like Raya Holding, NRT Technology and Sightline Payments, underlining confidence in the region’s payments ecosystem and digital finance growth despite geopolitical headwinds.

Savvy Games Group has agreed to acquire Moonton from ByteDance in a $6 billion deal, adding the maker of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang to its portfolio. The move supports Saudi Arabia’s gaming ambitions backed by the Public Investment Fund, while ByteDance continues shifting focus toward AI.

Beltone Asset Management has secured approval from Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority to launch Fadda, the country’s first regulated silver investment fund, giving both retail and institutional investors professional access to silver as a new asset class and diversification tool, with subscriptions expected to open after the Eid Al‑Fitr holiday.

PRYPCO Blocks has launched “Flip the Blocks,” a new invest‑renovate‑sell real estate strategy that lets investors gain exposure to professionally managed property flipping in prime Dubai locations with entry from around AED 2,000, targeting capital growth by acquiring undervalued properties, renovating them, and selling for profit without requiring high upfront capital or hands‑on involvement.

Vault22 has launched its AI‑powered wealth management platform in the United Arab Emirates, offering users a unified app to aggregate bank accounts, investments, liabilities and goals and deliver personalised budgeting, saving and investment insights. The platform uses artificial intelligence to provide financial guidance and helps users better understand and manage their overall financial position through a single dashboard, reflecting growing demand for smart digital finance tools in the UAE.

Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the food delivery platform Keeta to support Emirati homegrown concepts, startups and SMEs in the food and beverage sector by helping them access modern digital sales channels, expand customer reach and boost sustainable growth through specialised development programmes and operational support.

Yango Tech has launched a new suite of industrial AI agents that can autonomously handle tasks like customer service, analytics, compliance and decision‑making for businesses across sectors such as fintech, e‑commerce, logistics and smart cities, aiming to boost enterprise automation and accelerate the UAE’s digital workforce agenda as demand for scalable AI solutions grows across the Middle East.

Dubai has expanded its leadership development efforts with new programmes and initiatives designed to cultivate the next generation of Emirati leaders by enhancing skills in strategic thinking, innovation and public leadership, aiming to strengthen local talent pipelines across government and private sectors as part of broader economic and human capital development goals.

Affinity Partners, the investment firm led by Jared Kushner, saw its assets grow to USD 6.2 billion in 2025, driven largely by backing from GCC investors including funds from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, with nearly all of its capital coming from non‑US sources as it targets global opportunities shaped by geopolitical shifts.

At Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Huawei executive Alvin Feng outlined the company’s vision for AI‑driven banking, saying artificial intelligence is evolving from a support function into a strategic core for modern banking—reshaping everything from customer engagement and risk management to internal decision‑making and personalised services as financial institutions rethink how technology fits into long‑term strategy.

ITIDA and Plug and Play concluded their Aswan Bootcamp Series, supporting 61 startups in Upper Egypt that have collectively secured about $3.7 million in investments, highlighting growing investor interest in tech ventures outside Cairo.

Mezza officially launched its UAE financing platform for restaurants, offering upfront capital in exchange for future F&B credits, and successfully closed an early seed round backed by prominent angel investors as it aims to address hospitality funding gaps without debt or equity dilution.

estaie raised a 7‑figure pre‑seed round led by PlusVC and Orbit Ventures to build and expand its AI‑native extended‑stay marketplace, with plans to scale across the GCC starting from Dubai to Riyadh.

WHOOP attracted $575 million in Series G funding at a $10.1 billion valuation, with participation from Gulf sovereign funds and global investors, underlining growing cross‑border capital flows into health and performance tech.

Lean Technologies received the first regulated open banking license in Saudi Arabia, enabling the fintech to build new data-driven financial services and expand access to payments and banking infrastructure across the kingdom.

Neotek received Saudi Arabia’s first full Open Banking licence, enabling the fintech to offer secure data‑sharing APIs and expand digital financial services under Vision 2030.

Carnistore secured $12.2 million in strategic investment to scale its premium food operations in the UAE, supporting marketplace growth and expansion into new categories.

ArabicAI partnered with Qistas to deliver a sovereign-grade Arabic legal AI platform, providing advanced AI solutions for legal and enterprise applications across the MENA region.

Neura Robotics raised a USD 1.2 billion funding round, backed by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim and other investors. The Germany‑based robotics startup focuses on advanced human‑robot interaction solutions, with the capital set to accelerate product development and global deployment.

Wireless Logic / Alterra secured investment to scale its IoT connectivity platform aimed at climate‑enabling infrastructure. The platform connects sensors, devices, and smart city systems, helping governments and enterprises monitor environmental impact and optimize operations.

Telda launched an in‑app stock trading and investment fund feature in Egypt, giving retail investors access to diversified portfolios and fractional shares through a mobile platform, aiming to democratize investing in MENA’s growing retail wealth segment.