Funding Trends in Startups across Africa and the Middle East - Week 28, 2025
In the face of a cautious global outlook, the startup sector in Africa and the Middle East continues to thrive, with significant investments pouring into deeptech, proptech, fintech, and AI infrastructure.
One of the most notable developments is the growth of BuuPass, a streamlined transport system, which has become a crucial piece of infrastructure for East Africa's intercity travel market. The company recently secured an undisclosed strategic investment from Yango Ventures, further bolstering its position in the region.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Paymenow, a financial wellness platform, has received $22.4 million in strategic funding from Standard Bank. This investment positions Paymenow as a key player in financial wellness across emerging markets.
Cerebrium, an AI infrastructure startup based in South Africa, secured an impressive $8.5 million seed round led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused fund. The company is building a high-performance serverless platform for deploying AI workloads.
The funding landscape in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) experienced a significant downturn in June 2025, with total funding dropping by 82% month-on-month to $52 million across 37 deals, and a 55% year-on-year decline. However, early July 2025 saw a rebound, with more than $350 million raised in a mix of mega-deals and strategic rounds.
UAE remains the funding hub in MENA, securing over 70% of June’s capital and continuing to attract large deals in July, especially in deeptech and proptech. Tunisia has emerged as a new notable player, propelled by startups addressing critical needs like water scarcity.
In Africa, fintech continues to lead in funding due to strong regional ecosystems in West, East, and Southern Africa. Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa are leading within their regions. There is also growing emphasis on logistics solutions and sustainability tech.
Deeptech startups are particularly attracting large strategic investments, as seen in the $250 million Series A round secured by Dubai-based XPANCEO. The company focuses on next-gen wearable interfaces and global expansion.
Huspy, a proptech startup based in the UAE, raised $59 million in a Series B round, led by Balderton Capital. The funds will be used to expand its online home-buying platform to over 10 cities globally, including Madrid, Valencia, and Dubai.
Saudi-based freight network TruKKer raised $15 million in debt from Ruya Partners, while Rekaz, a Saudi SaaS startup, closed a $5 million seed round. These raises indicate growing investor appetite for deeptech, proptech, and fintech startups in the region.
The funds raised by these startups will be used for product development, expanding operations, improving tech stacks, and global expansion. This reflects a dynamic but cautious funding environment, with investors selectively bullish on startups with strong fundamentals and scalable tech addressing critical regional challenges.
Technology continues to play a significant role in the growth of startups in Africa and the Middle East, as evidenced by the large investments poured into deeptech, proptech, fintech, and AI infrastructure. For instance, Cerebrium, an AI infrastructure startup based in South Africa, secured a substantial seed round. Similarly, Huspy, a proptech startup based in the UAE, raised a Series B round for expanding its online home-buying platform globally. These raised funds will be used for product development, expanding operations, improving tech stacks, and global expansion.
