• Egypt-based social commerce platform Brimore has raised a $25 million Series A round, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Endure Capital, with participation from Fawry, Flourish, Endeavor Catalyst Fund and the startup's existing investors including Algebra Ventures, Disruptech, Khawarizmi Ventures and Vision Ventures. This marks the IFC's first-ever direct investment into an Egyptian startup.
• Founded in 2017 by Mohamed Abdulaziz, Ahmed Sheikha, and Mahmoud Refaay, Brimore enables small businesses to get their product out to the mass market by connecting them with to wide network of distributors across Egypt.
• The company plans to deploy the funding to expand its product offerings, grow network suppliers and accelerate its expansion across Africa.

Press release

Brimore, Egypt’s largest social commerce platform, has closed its Series A round of $25M, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Endure Capital with participation from Fawry, Flourish, Endeavor Catalyst Fund and existing Brimore investors including Algebra Ventures, Disruptech, Khawarizmi Ventures and Vision Ventures. The fresh funds will be used to grow its products and suppliers and expand across the continent to become the leading social commerce app of Africa.

Three years into its foundation, Brimore was able to grow 400x, build a massive network of almost 75,000 resellers to cover 27 cities within Egypt, with a focus on rural and remote areas. Brimore uses its unique infrastructure and proprietary technology to avail market penetration opportunities to emerging brands owners. Brimore enables its sellers, who are mostly women, to unlock an alternative and flexible income method and become local business leaders through their custom solutions of online and offline sales channels.

The new capital will fuel Brimore’s growth within the next year, growing its network of sellers and suppliers 4x, doubling the number of its employees and increasing the number of products sold three-fold. By 2023, Brimore aims to operate in three countries and strengthen its physical logistics capabilities.

“In the past three years, we’ve focused on building a smart and reliable infrastructure that enables the masses to do their commerce businesses, wherever they are, and whatever they have,” said Mohamed Abdulaziz, Brimore’s CEO and Co-Founder. “We’ll be using the fresh fund to scale our infrastructure, enabling many more people to continue their journey of 50x growth by 2023, and opening this gate of hope and opportunity to other people in African markets.

Ahmed Sheikha, Chief Business and Investment Officer and Co-Founder at Brimore added: “Our ambition is to create a global model where market access is democratized through the power of people. Our promise is that we will use technology, operations and creative financing models to make it true.” Brimore isn't only about online reselling, it commoditizes trust, allowing brands to reach all types of audiences, and helps resellers sell online and offline, especially in areas with minimal internet penetration.

Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Egypt, said: “IFC is excited to support Brimore as a leader in social commerce in Egypt. This is our largest direct investment in social commerce so far,” said Walid Labadi, IFC’s country manager for Egypt. “IFC’s co-lead investment in Brimore aims to help the platform continue to democratize access to e-commerce, increase economic opportunities for women, and support the development of the local manufacturing sector in the country.”

Tarek Fahim, Managing Partner at Endure Capital, said: “Every decade, comes a company that fuses technology, operations excellence, and human capital to unlock unprecedented impact and value. We are proud to be Brimore's first and continuous partner in their mission of building the infrastructure and technology for social commerce in Egypt and Africa, to change the lives of their partners, especially women who aspire for a better future for themselves and their families.”

Tarek Assaad, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures said: “As Brimore experienced explosive growth over the past three years, Algebra has worked closely with the company to support in strategic and operational areas, especially recruitment, which is a key area of focus at Algebra. We came in on the first round of investment and invested in every subsequent round, to ensure that the growth momentum stays on track. We are delighted to see such a strong group of investors, many of whom have co-invested with us in the past, coming into the company. I am humbled by how Mohamed and Ahmed have grown as leaders and continue to drive the execution and vision of the company forward.”

Computer scientist Mohammed Alsolami, 35, is on a mission to provide just that with his startup company Robotics LLC

As Saudi Arabia weans itself off a dependence on oil in favor of a more diversified and innovative economy and culture, there is a need for one asset above all: knowledge.

Specifically, knowledge of the STEM subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, and their practical application in daily life.

Computer scientist Mohammed Alsolami, 35, is on a mission to provide just that with his startup company Robotics LLC.

Alsolami founded Robotics in 2014 in the US state of Maryland, where he was conducting doctoral research into the use of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things for crowd control, having already gained no less than three master’s degrees from multiple US institutions.

In 2019 he registered a sister company with the same name in Riyadh.

Alsolami is something of an ideas machine. He developed a wrist-worn device which guides an individual through crowded spaces, keeping them in contact with their friends and family while warning of over-congested areas — useful in Makkah during the Hajj season. He also created an ‘agri-tech’ sensor which provides home-growers and farmers with essential data as to when plants and crops need to be irrigated.

However, Alsolami’s present commercial focus is on the training of young people, aged eight to 22, in the construction and manipulation of robots.

His training programs, 12 days in duration, were first launched in Makkah with face-to-face classes of no more than 15 students, using curriculum licensed from Woz U — the tech training institute established by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak — and other academic sources. All his courses are translated into Arabic, making them accessible to any young Saudi.

In 2020 Alsolami’s enterprise was hit by the COVID 19 epidemic, bringing live training sessions to a sudden halt. But this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was able to launch his classes online and achieve much more rapid growth, with both trainers and trainees located across the Kingdom.

Robotics shifted its HQ to Riyadh and presently operates with nine full-time staff along with some forty freelance trainers. The company has delivered over 400 courses to both individual and institutional clients, the latter including the Kingdom’s Royal Commission schools.

Alsolami and his team are now working hard to make the courses fully automated. “The whole operation should be online by April of this year”, he told Arab News. “Clients will be able to select, pay for and take their course via an online dashboard, the only human contact being with the actual trainer, who will also be online.”

While grounding youngsters in AI and IoT, Alsolami’s courses develop important life skills such as teamwork and leadership — because building and programming a robot, for example to throw a ball, is normally a collaborative activity.

Because of Covid restrictions, trainees currently work individually, but hopefully once the epidemic has passed, they can form groups in a physical location to build a single, more ambitious robot and enter local and international robotics competitions as a team.

Currently delivering courses to about one thousand trainees per annum, Robotics has turnover of about SR1 million ($270,000). Revenue comes from two sources: course fees — SR1,000 per head — and the online sale of robotics kits, with the hardware currently being sourced from China.

“We’re now looking for pre-seed investment of about $1 million. That will help us to develop the online dashboard, build up our operation to 20,000 clients annually by mid-2025, and to produce our own robotics kits here in the Kingdom and on a much larger scale.”

Alsolami is confident of achieving this. Most parents he surveyed share his belief that educating young people in amateur robotics will help prepare them for the Kingdom’s future ‘smart’ economy.

“Education always pays the best interest”, Alsolami says. “And with Vision 2030, we at Robotics are focused on building the capacity and supporting the talent of our leaders of tomorrow. This is our KPI and our vision. And this is how we hope to serve our country and serve the world.”

Source: zawya

Saudi Arabia has launched investments worth $6.4 billion in future technologies, the Saudi minister of communication and information technology said on Tuesday, as the kingdom races to diversify its economy from oil in the face of fierce regional competition.

Wealthy Gulf countries have launched initiatives to boost non-oil growth and reduce dependence on crude oil as climate change campaigners and volatility in oil prices have put pressure on government finances.

The kingdom has already announced it is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into an economic transformation, known as Vision 2030, led by its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The investments announced on Tuesday include a $2 billion joint venture between eWTP Arabia Capital, a fund backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Alibaba, and China's J&T Express Group, minister Abdullah Alswaha said.

Saudi oil giant Aramco will inject, via its fund Prosperity7 Ventures, $1 billion to help entrepreneurs across the globe build transformative start-ups, while Saudi Telecom Co (STC) 7010.SE will invest $1 billion in the infrastructure of submarine cables and data centres, he said.

"Right now, the tech and digital market in the kingdom is around $40 billion which is the largest by far in the region. We're very proud of the growth that we have seen in the region, specifically in areas around e-commerce, gaming, digital content and cloud," Alswaha said in a interview with Reuters.

The minister, who was speaking on the margins of LEAP, an international technology platform taking place in Riyadh, said Armaco Prosperity7's initiative will focus on green technologies while logistics company J&T Express Group's joint venture will build a smart hub for the region that will improve efficiency by up to 100%.

Alswaha said NEOM, a futuristic megacity that the crown prince is building on the Red Sea coast, has launched $1 billion of investments in a metaverse to serve the city's residents and visitors, in addition to another platform that would help users to take control of their personal data.

"We project over the next eight years, a minimum of another 100,000 to 250,000 jobs, which will effectively mean doubling the number of coders that we have today, in some cases will triple (the number)," he said.

The government also expects $1.4 billion to be spent in entrepreneurship and allocated to funds to support digital content, including an initiative known as The Garage, a space in the capital Riyadh that will host start-ups specialised in new technologies.

"All the numbers ... are vetted and validated by third parties. Again, we are not in the business of any showmanship, we're in the business of committing and delivering," the minister said.

Source: zawya

Sectors will have to brace for constant changes to remain afloat as evolving trends give rise to new opportunities

Businesses in the UAE are all set for welcoming 2022, equipped to strive forward as new trends unfold. Thankfully, the robust digital adoption in the nation has ensured that the work will continue and remain uninterrupted. The new 4 1/2-day work week — Monday to Friday — starting from January 2022 will help the businesses to align with global markets and will help boost productivity. The tech-enabled industries will have to gear up as demand will only accelerate from key sectors, making it more competitive for existing players. Some of the sectors that will continue to evolve in 2022 are eCommerce, qcommerce, edtech, healtech, fintech, proptech, entertainment, cryptocurrency just to name a few.

The UAE is looked upon as a global role model to handle pandemic in 2020 and 2021 with business sentiment soaring to peak and industries applauding the visionary policies and strategies to not only combat pandemic impact but also ensure that the economy remains competitive enough to boost businesses.

Some of the milestones of 2021, include approval of the Dh290 billion federal budget for five years until 2026 and launch of the industrial strategy “Operation 300bn” to empower and expand the industrial sector. Further, the launch of ‘Projects of the 50’ will establish a new phase of internal and external growth of the state in various economic sectors which should make the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) target of overall real gross domestic product (GDP) of 4.2 per cent in 2022 against 2.1 per cent in 2021 achievable. The mega-event Expo2020 Dubai has been a game-changer and catalysed business opportunities for the UAE and participating nations.

Bharat Bhatia, chairman, and CEO of Conares, said: “The challenges that we faced in the past are simply opportunities to learn, so we can build towards a better future. The economy is getting back to pre-pandemic levels and there is greater opportunity for growth in the construction sector in the UAE. Despite the many ups and downs, we have a lot to look forward to in 2022 as we move forward with hope in our hearts and a smile on our faces.”

Sustainability will continue to dominate in 2022 as businesses will strive to build sustainable growth making resilience a strong code of conduct for individuals and businesses. Businesses will have to brace for constant changes and continue to innovate to remain afloat as the evolving trends give rise to new opportunities too.

Healthcare

Dr Azad Moopen, founder chairman and managing director, Aster DM Healthcare, said: “As per The World Health Organisation, almost half of the world lacks access to essential health services and over 100 million are pushed into poverty due to out-of-pocket health expenses. This stark reality was brought to the forefront during the pandemic very strongly with public healthcare systems across the world collapsing to manage and cater to increasing demands. More than ever the need to make quality healthcare affordable and accessible on time has been felt strongly.”

While it is important to increase healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP by the developing countries, the key to the penetration is digitisation. This will make at least primary healthcare available even in the remotest corners of the world through the ubiquitous mobile phones.

Dr Moopen added: “As we step into 2022, with renewed vigour to deliver our caring mission with a global vision to serve the world with quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible, we at Aster DM Healthcare remain at the forefront of adopting digital technology. We hope this will help us to enable access to millions to our services in a cost-effective way. As a blessing in disguise, Covid-19 has played the role of a catalyst in pushing the sector to innovate and come up with need-of-the-hour solutions.”

Sustainability

Sustainability will be foregrounded in all facets of life in the UAE in 2022. If anything, the pandemic was a supply-chain lesson, which reinforced the need to pursue sustainability on all fronts, particularly in food and water.

Chandra Dake, executive chairman and group CEO of Dake Group, said: “In the new year, as the great reset pans out, we will witness greater activity around Agtech, low-input farming, and decarbonisation in the agriculture sector. I’m glad to be entering the new year with so much to look forward to. All credit goes to leaders, whose proactive measures, crisis response, and science-based targets made today’s upbeat sentiment possible. I speak for all residents and business persons in the UAE when I say that we are grateful for the rulers’ ceaseless work in handling the pandemic. I wish everyone in the UAE a happy new year, and sincerely hope that personal sustainability features in their resolutions as it does in mine.”

Similarly, Dr Mostafa Al Guezeri, managing director, Hitachi Energy, said: “Our goal in 2022 is to advance the world’s energy system to be more sustainable, flexible, and secure. As the pioneering technology leader, we collaborate with customers and partners to enable a sustainable energy future for generations to come. Since the pandemic prompted changes in the energy market through supply line disruptions and inflationary trends, we intend to differentiate that in this competitive sector with burgeoning growth in areas such as electric transportation, renewable energy, and smart infrastructure.

E-commerce

Dubai has ranked as the fastest-growing e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa thanks to a very advanced technological infrastructure and the growing number of tech-savvy consumers. Dubai Customs expects e-commerce sales to rise 23 per cent to $27 billion (Dh100 billion), in 2022.

Real estate

The year 2022 will see greater market-driven developments, increased proptech adoption, and retrofitting activities, informs Sanjeevv Bhatia, chairman of SB Group and CEO of Netix Global BV.

“The UAE’s 4.5-day workweek will come into effect on January 1, 2022. So, we are about to witness a paradigm shift from day one. For a global company like the SB Group, this change is consequential — our teams can reduce operational latency and manage time zone differences effectively, adding to overall productivity. This move is one among the many that the UAE leadership has made to enhance the nation’s competitiveness. More power to them as they pursue greater causes in 2022. Real estate, in particular, continues to be the sector generating maximum initiatives and favourable policies from the government,” added Bhatia.

The UAE economy is likely to see an upward movement in 2022. History says that the country that hosts the Expo sees a steady growth in the months to follow. “Around 93 per cent of the UAE’s population is vaccinated, which makes the country a safer place and people are looking forward to visiting the country. This will give a major boost to the economy fuelled by the growth in tourism and investment as the country’s culture is a perfect mix of East and West. All this is majorly due to the exemplary initiatives by the UAE Government,” said Anis Sajan, vice-chairman, Danube Group.

“The UAE has seen quite a few changes like ease in doing business, golden visa for select residents and the recent one being the change in the working week to get in sync with the rest of the world.”

Imran Farooq, Group chief executive officer, Samana Group, said: “The year 2021 was very different and challenging. It would not be wrong to say that it changed the dynamics of the entire world and impacted the entire humanity, created ripple effects on every section of society, the industry, the economy, and the way we work and look at things.”

Cryptocurrency

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) announced in July 2021 a roadmap to integrate a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) into the country’s financial, investment, and trading ecosystem. This followed years of research, analysis, and idea-sharing by the CBUAE and some of the key entities in the UAE’s Crypto ecosystem and forms part of the country’s 2023-2026 strategy to promote digital transformation. Evidently, Crypto has been evaluated as an innovative and important asset class in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the financial, investment, and trading landscape.

Arshad Khan co-founder and CEO of Arabian Bourse, said: “I see the UAE economy strengthening further in the next year. Several initiatives taken by the government in 2021 will add to improving the economic parameters. Expo 2020 and initiatives in the areas of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, in particular, will add significant strength to the overall growth.”

Jolivette Dela Cruz, Managing Director of Chef Signature

Year 2021 was a challenging year for everyone due to the Covid-19 situation. For me as Entrepreneur, I’ve been through a lot with our businesses. Moreover, before the year ends – the Emirate open us with other opportunities. One is opening the first Franchise of OFF THE HOOK in Sharjah. We have given the chance to be part of the team to operate and to manage OTH Sharjah. My other two businesses are back on track, start moving forward and quietly recovering.

There are Government measures in place to support and to boost this recovery for businesses like stimulus package, the discount offered during license renewal or new licensing and more. There are changes in UAE legislations which are aligned with the international best practices which improve the ease of doing business in UAE. Herewith UAE become appealing with the entrepreneurs .

I believe UAE economic will strongly recover from pandemic in 2022 and surely will be back with it’s pre-pandemic stage. UAE good governance, best practices in handling the pandemic situation and changes in doing business will boost the Emirate’s Economy in 2022. One indicator I have seen is the positive impact of the Expo 2020 with different sectors of business.

Abdul Jebbar PB, Group Managing Director, Hotpack Global

2021 was a challenging year for everyone. The disruption of the global supply chain was difficult to deal with for everyone and the new year is going to bring new challenges with it as well. However, it will also bring new opportunities, so I hope that everyone is able to reflect on the past with humility and move forward in hope of a better future.

Naren Vijay, Executive Vice President – EMEA, Lumenore

The new year is a cause for celebration because it’s always exciting to think about what new innovations and opportunities the next year is going to bring. What makes the new year special is that it serves as a reminder that things will keep changing and that it is up to you to make the most of the opportunities that these changes present.

Abdulla Nalapad, MD Nalapad Investments

The year 2021 was a welcome return to normal for children, parents and teachers. We should all be proud to have shown such resilience in these trying times and understand that we are capable of achieving anything if we want it. We hope to keep that momentum going through to 2022 and not slow down, no matter what life throws at us next.

Mohammed Mahabub Alam, Chairman of Tokyosat Group and Mahabub Perfumes, Dubai

The year 2021 has been a year of recovery, while 2022 will be a year of growth for all of us. The Expo 2020 has helped the overall UAE economy and we are witnessing the benefits of it through increased tourist traffic, higher spending in the retail sector and increased investment in real estate. Dubai International Airport once again has become the world’s busiest airport that shows the increase in passenger movement, thanks to the visionary leadership of the country.

Shahinoor Shah, Director of E-First Global, Dubai, UAE

The year 2021 was a learning period for all of us in the UAE as we all were in growth mode and to adapt to the changes quickly and diversify with changing demands in the market.The 2022 will be a year of growth for the UAE economy, much better than what we have seen last couple of years. The Government of the UAE has opened the doors to so many new opportunities for all over the world.”

Shabbir Merchant, Chairman, Champion Group

The UAE economy is all set to grow in the coming year. Most industries that were impacted during peak Covid times have revived and are getting back on track. Companies are hiring and scaling up their resources to be able cater to growing market demand.Additionally the oil price gains and sustained demand will work to UAE’s economy advantage. I am confident that the economy will grow further by bold initiatives and policies by the UAE government.

2021 in UAE was unprecedented where we witnessed the launch of the world’s greatest show - Expo2020. We were privileged to work on projects at Expo, launched new solutions, invested in the latest machinery, and scaled up resources to gain new clients. More importantly, the pandemic was curbed which helped the overall healthcare scenario in UAE and brought back everyone’s confidence.

Ahmed Shaikhani, President, Pakistan Business Council, Dubai.

2021 was a challenging year but we have witnessed how the UAE and its leadership had showdown with it, overcame and managed the Covid-19 crises so well that the country, especially Dubai, has become a role model in the world in handling such situations. Dubai has done a great by organizing the vaccination drive and sanitizing the entire city.

Covid-19 temporarily affected the Expo plans but did not stop it. Dubai delayed it for a reason - to manage the vaccination drive first. And when the Expo was launched, it went with a big bang and is now an extremely successful event among all international events. Till mid December 2021, Expo 2020 Dubai visit numbers climbed to more than 6.3 million and it is boosting the visitors by a range of entertainment and country pavilion activities.

The new Covid-19 variant is impacting again but I am pretty sure the UAE will overcome it as the country has the experience of handling such crises.

Looking at the success of Expo and revival of Dubai real estate and other industries, I can say with conviction that the year 2022 will be a promising year for every business.

We at Pakistan Business Council always supported the initiatives of the local government and followed the new guidelines from the rulers. Pakistan Business Council works hand in hand with local authorities and ministries, especially Dubai Chamber, for supporting the bilateral trade between Pakistan and the UAE, which has started showing up the results. I, on behalf of Pakistan Business Council, wish a very happy New Year and even greater successes to the UAE and expatriates living here.

source: Zaway

جاءت حصيلة أكبر خمس صفقات تمويل للشركات الناشئة في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا لشهر ديسمبر 2021 بأكثر من 154.5 مليون دولار وهو ما يمثل زيادة عن شهر نوفمبر تقدر بحوالي 6% قياساً بأكبر خمسة صفقات تمويل للشركات الناشئة في شهر نوفمبر، كما شهد شهر ديسمبر عودة قوية لقطاع التجارة الإلكترونية تمثلت بصفقة تمويلية بقيمة 75 مليون دولار! سنتعرف فيما يأتي على الشركات الناشئة التي حصلت على الصفقات الأكبر في شهر ديسمبر.

أولاً: ساري

القطاع: التجارة الإلكترونية

البلد: المملكة العربية السعودية

التأسيس: 2018

المؤسسين: محمد الدوسري وخالد السياري

نجحت شركة ساري السعودية المتخصصة في التجارة الإلكترونية بين الشركات في المملكة العربية السعودية بجمع 75 مليون دولار (حوالي 281 مليون ريال سعودي) في جولة من الفئة C بقيادة سنابل للاستثمار، وبمشاركة من شركة وفرة للاستثمار الدولي وإنديفور كاتاليست إلى جانب عدد من المستثمرين الحاليين في ساري وهم STV وMSA Capial وRocketship.vc وVentureSouq ورائد فنتشرز. علماً أن هذه الجولة التمويلية الثانية لساري خلال عام 2021 حيث سبق أن جمعت نحو 30.5 مليون دولار. ستسخدم ساري جولة التمويل الجديدة للاستثمار في تطوير المنتجات والتوسع الجغرافي.

ثانيا: أوبونشيا

القطاع: التجارة الإلكترونية

البلد: الإمارات العربية المتحدة

التأسيس: مارس 2021

المؤسسين: Philip Johnston وManfred Meyer

جمعت شركة أوبونشيا مبلغ 42 مليون دولار من حقوق الملكية والديون في جولة من السلسلة الأولى بقيادة STV. انطلقت أوبونشيا، في مارس 2021 بعد جمع 20 مليون دولار من جولة البذور من Founders Capital، وPresight Capital، وRaed Ventures، وKingsway Capital، بمشاركة العديد من المستثمرين الملائكيين. تتطلع أوبونشيا إلى تسريع نمو العلامات التجارية للتجارة الإلكترونية وتمكينها من التوسع السريع والمغامرة في الأسواق العالمية. تنشط أوبونشيا حالياً في الإمارات والسعودية وبولندا وتركيا وستعمل بفضل التمويل الجديد على توسيع اعمالها في أسواق مصر ونيجيريا وباكستان.

ثالثاً: Calo

القطاع: تكنولوجيا الطعام

البلد: البحرين

التأسيس: 2019

المؤسسين: أحمد الراوي ومؤيد المؤيد

نجحت شركة Calo في جولة تمويلية مبدئية مبلغ قدره 13.5 مليون دولار، التي شارك في قيادتها كل من خوارزمي فينتشرز، ونوى كابيتال، وSTV بمشاركة من مجموعة الفيصلية، وVision Ventures، و500 Startups، وSavor Ventures، و Nama Ventures فضلا عن المستثمرين الملائكيين الآخرين.

تهدف Calo إلى استخدام التمويل لزيادة الاستثمار في تقنيتها، وتعزيز مكانتها في كل من البحرين والمملكة العربية السعودية حيث تعمل حالياً وتتوسع في مناطق جغرافية جديدة.

رابعاً: GrubTech

القطاع: التكنولوجيا الغذائية

البلد: الإمارات العربية المتحدة

المؤسسين: حمد الفايد وعمر الرفاعي ومحمد حميدي

جمعت شركة GrubTech الناشئة في مجال التكنولوجيا الغذائية، ومقرها الإمارات العربية المتحدة، استثمارًا بقيمة 13 مليون دولار من الفئة A بقيادة Addition، جنبًا إلى جنب مع BY Ventures وHambro Perks Oryx Fund. تعد جولة GrubTech من أكبر الجولات التمويلية للشركات الناشئة في مجال التكنولوجيا الغذائية.

خامساً: طماطم

القطاع: برمجيات الألعاب

البلد: الأردن

التأسيس: 2013

المؤسس: حسام حمو

نجحت شركة الألعاب الأردنية "طماطم" في جمع 11 مليون دولار في جولة تمويلية من السلسلة "ب" بقيادة  شركة تطوير الألعاب KRAFTON Inc، وبمشاركة من Venture Souq وEndeavor Catalyst و بمساهمة من مستثمري الشركة الحاليين مثل  Wamda Capital و500 Startups.

استطاعت طماطم تحقيق نجاحات سريعة منذ انطلاقها في عام 2013 بسبب قدرة العابها على محاكاة لأذواق جمهورها المستهدف في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي، وتقدر القيمة السوقية لشركة طماطم اليوم بأكثر من 80 مليون دولار. تخطط طماطم في الوقت الحالي لاستخدام أموال جولة التمويل الأخيرة في تعزيز جهودها في جلب العديد من الألعاب الشعبية إلى السوق الناطق باللغة العربية. كما ستعمل على توظيف مواهب سعودية في هذا المجال لغرض التوسع أكثر في السوق السعودية الذي يشكل نحو 70% من مستخدمي تطبيقها. 

كما كان متوقعاً نجحت الشركات الناشئة في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا في جمع تمويل كبير خلال شهر نوفمبر وصل إلى 284 مليون دولار بنمو وصل إلى نحو 89% مقارنةً بشهر أكتوبر وبزيادة تصل إلى 666% مقارنةً بنوفمبر من العام الماضي. يأتي هذا الارتفاع في حجم تمويل الشركات الناشئة في المنطقة بعد انخفاض ملحوظ في شهر أكتوبر حيث لم يتجاوز حجم تمويل الشركات الناشئة حدود الـ150 مليون دولار. نستعرض فيما يأتي حالة الشركات الناشئة في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا خلال شهر نوفمبر 2021 من حيث عدد الصفقات وحجمها ومراحل الاستثمار وتوزعها قطاعياً وجغرافياً.

التوزع الجغرافي لعدد وحجم صفقات الشركات الناشئة

تظهر المنافسة بين الشركات الناشئة في المنطقة العربية على اشدها في شهر نوفمبر، فرغم تصدر الإمارات الاعتيادي لقائمة أكثر الشركات التي حصلت على تمويل بعد أن نجحت في جمع ما قيمته 114 مليون دولار إلا أن المراكز اللاحقة ظهر فيها اختلاف كبير، حيث احتلت الشركات الناشئة الأردنية للمرة الأولى المركز الثاني بعد أن نجحت في جمع نحو 46 مليون دولار خلال شهر نوفمبر، فيما حلت مصر ثالثاً بحوالي 44 مليون دولار تليها السعودية بـ35 مليون دولار ومن ثم الجزائر التي جمعت فيها تطبيق ياسر متعدد الخدمات نحو 30 مليون دولار وهو أكبر مبلغ تحصل عليه شركة ناشئة جزائرية خلال شهر واحد على الإطلاق.

على صعيد توزع التمويل على الشركات الناشئة جاءت الإمارات أيضاً بالمركز الأولى بعدد صفقات وصل إلى 24 صفقة تليها مصر بنفس العدد، ثم السعودية بـ12 صفقة.

رغم الحالة التنافسية- الصحية- التي باتت تؤثر على اتجاهات تمويل الشركات الناشئة في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا خلال الفترة الماضية إلا المركز الثاني الذي احتلته الأردن جاء عبر تمويل 3 شركات ناشئة أما في حالة الجزائر التي جاءت في المركز الخامس متخلفةً عن السعودية بفارق 5 مليون دولار فقط، فكان التمويل محصوراً بشركة واحدة فقط.

التوزع القطاعي لعدد وحجم صفقات الشركات الناشئة

احتل قطاع التكنولوجيا المالية الذي ينمو باضطراد في السنوات الثلاثة السابقة المركز الأول من حيث عدد الصفقات وحجم التمويل، حيث جمعت الشركات الناشئة العاملة في هذا القطاع على أكثر من 72 مليون دولار، بنسبة نمو عن الشهر فائت تصل لنحو 100%، في المركز الثاني جاء قطاع التكنولوجيا الغذائية بتمويل وصل إلى نحو 44.8 مليون دولار، وهو قطاع أخذ بالنمو بسبب الاهتمام بهذا القطاع من قبل الحكومات والمستثمرين في المنطقة.

مراحل الاستثمار في الشركات الناشئة

بخلاف الأشهر السابقة من هذا العام تركزت صفقات التمويل من حيث مراحل الاستثمار في شهر نوفمبر في صفقات التمويل شركات مسرعة للنمو بواقع 22 صفقة، فيما جاءت مرحلة التمويل الأولي في المركز الثاني بـ15 صفقة يليها صفقات تمويل في مرحلة ما قبل التأسيس بـ14 صفقة.

التوزع الجندري

للشهر الثاني على التوالي يظهر التوزع الجندري ميلاً نحو المزيد من التمويل للشركات الناشئة المؤسسة أو التي تدار من قبل إناث حيث حصلت هذه الشركات في شهر نوفمبر على تمويل يقدر بنحو 14 مليون دولار، بنسبة 5.1% من إجمالي التمويل لشهر نوفمبر، وهو أعلى رقم تحصل عليها الشركات المؤسسة من قبل الإناث لهذا العام، فيما حصلت الشركات الناشئة المؤسسة من فرق مختلة على 54 مليون دولار، بنسبة 18.5% من إجمالي التمويل.

أن المنطقة المغاربية ما زالت بعيدة إلى حد كبير عن تصدر قوائم التمويل للشركات الناشئة في المنطقة لضعف البيئة الاستثمارية الحاضنة للشركات الناشئة من جهة وغياب المبادرات الحكومية التي من شأنها أن تعزز من حركة ونمو الشركات الناشئة في المنطقة.