Beltone supports Lychee and Ariika Saudi expansion

Beltone Venture Capital (BVC) is supporting the Saudi expansion of two Egyptian companies — D2C home-furnishing brand Ariika and healthy F&B chain Lychee — which are opening a combined five stores in Riyadh, the firm said in a press release (pdf). BVC framed the move — which plans two stores for Ariika and three for Lychee — as a progression from simply financing its portfolio companies to actively building them into regional consumer players. The release gave no investment figures, valuations, or timeline for the openings.

Premium burial grounds

Homegrown funeral services startup Sokna has partnered with Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) to launch Bostan, a 188-acre cemetery development on the Suez Road, the company said in a statement (pdf). The move marks the funeral services firm’s long-anticipated entry into large-scale cemetery management. Under the partnership, Sokna will oversee the sales and daily operation of the project, while TMG will provide operational support and flexible payment plans.

Why it matters: The launch reflects Sokna’s plan to expand beyond end-to-end funeral services into integrated cemetery management. Founder and CEO Ahmed Gaballah previously told us the company plans to develop its cemetery project based on insights gathered over seven years of operations, focusing on addressing long-standing challenges around accessibility, traffic flow, maintenance, security, and integrated on-site services rather than simply developing cemetery real estate. But Sokna isn’t alone in this market, with Serenity breaking ground on its EGP 5 bn memorial garden project in the New Capital in February.

Trading app turns saver

Thndr has launched Thndr Gold, a digital investment product that allows users to buy, sell, and track physical 24-karat gold through its app, the company said in a statement (pdf). The launch comes weeks after Thndr previewed the product during its annual keynote, where it outlined plans to broaden its platform beyond stock trading with digital gold, fractional real estate, and AI-powered investment tools.

How it works: Investors can buy gold from as little as 0.001 grams — currently worth less than EGP 7 — with a flat 1% fee on both buy and sell orders. The product is built on a gold fund managed by Thndr Asset Management, with the underlying physical gold stored through EgyCash, a custody company backed by the Central Bank of Egypt. The offering also operates under the supervision of a specialized shariah committee and updates prices throughout the day based on official market rates.

A dynamic state cut

The Investment Ministry is ditching its flat export fee on nitrogen fertilizers in favor of a dynamic 10% duty linked to the free-on-board (FOB) value, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette. The measure exempts fertilizer exports destined for production projects in freezones, provided they fall within quotas approved by the General Authority for Investment and Freezones. The ministry is also exempting exports of pure ammonium nitrate — but only if the nitrogen concentration exceeds 34.2%.

Why it matters: The decree repeals the flat USD 90 per ton export levy that was slapped on the sector back in May. The government originally introduced the fixed fee to capture a slice of the massive windfall local producers were generating after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked off rival Gulf suppliers. This allowed Egyptian producers to fill the global supply gap and charge buyers up to USD 890 / ton for urea.