Fintech and e-commerce startups are still hot property for VCs in the Middle East and Africa and — no surprises here — local startups are still banging the drum on regional expansion plans in almost every startup press release we get coming our way.

MONEYHASH SECURES SEED INVESTMENT-

MoneyHash attracts USD 4.5 mn in seed funding from mostly Gulf VCs : The local fintech startup raised USD 4.5 mn in a seed round led by the UAE’s COTU Ventures and Saudi’s Sukna Ventures, the company said in a statement. Saudi’s RZM Investment and the UAE’s Dubai Future District Fund also participated in the funding round, alongside Greece’s VentureFriends and other investors.

The game plan for the funds: MoneyHash plans to use the proceeds to invest in its technology and to expand its growth across the region.

MoneyHash? Founded by Egyptians Nader Abdelrazik and Mustafa Eid and American Anisha Sekar in 2020, the US-based company’s unified platform allows companies to offer payment and fintech services at checkout as well as collect data and track analytics through a single dashboard. MoneyHash launched its payments aggregator platform in February 2022, after it raised USD 3 mn in pre-seed funding.

ACASIA INVESTS IN KENYA’S TAPPI-

Acasia taps Kenyan startup Tappi: Egyptian venture capital firm AcasiaVentures tookpart in a USD 1.5 mn pre-seed round for Kenyan e-commerce startup Tappi, the VC said in a statement (pdf). The round was led by US-based Mercy Corps Ventures and Africa-focused VC firm Chui Ventures, with support from international VC firms and angel investors.

Where the money will go: The funding will support Tappi’s expansion of its sales force team and establishing strategic partnerships across Africa, the statement said.

Tappi? The startup supports the digitization of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises helping them find customers and build their business reputation through its mobile app.

What they said: “Tappi has gained substantial momentum since it launched just over a yearago, because they offer a compelling digital solution to the critical challenges of MSMEs across the continent,” Acasia Ventures Managing Partner Aly El Shalakany said.

COREVISION ACQUIRES VEFUND

CoreVision announces acquisition of VeFund: Saudi-based venture capital firm CoreVision has acquired a strategic stake in startup evaluation and investor connections platform VeFund, CoreVision announced in a statement (pdf). CoreVision CEO Faisal Al Abdulsalam will take the helm as CEO of VeFund following the acquisition, according to the statement. The acquisition will see VeFund expand into a secondary market for startups in Saudi Arabia, offering a platform for investors to trade safe notes.

VeFund? VeFund is a software as a service (SaaS) that helps investors and startup founders connect and fundraise using AI and financial evaluation tools. The platform has 1.4k+ registered startups and a network of over 400 angel investors from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other countries.

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