Middle East
Financial Inclusion | February 12, 2024
First Circle backs Egypt’s Balad for cross-border payments
ImpactAlpha, February 12 – Egyptians living abroad send more than $30 billion a year to friends and family back home. Most of the …
Agrifood Tech | January 22, 2024
IGS scores £22.5 million to build a giant vertical farm in the UAE
ImpactAlpha, January 22 – The United Arab Emirates imports more than 80% of its food. The country is betting on indoor, vertical farms …
Dealflow | November 6, 2023
Women-led Almouneer raises $3.6 million for diabetes care in Egypt
ImpactAlpha, November 6 – In Africa and the Middle East, 40% of adults are obese and/or are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Egypt’s Almouneer offers …
Financial Inclusion | September 11, 2023
myZoi clinches $14 million to support migrant workers in Gulf states
ImpactAlpha, September 11 – Abu Dhabi-based fintech venture myZoi has found a significant need in the oil-rich Gulf: financial inclusion for the region’s …
Investing in Health | July 27, 2023
Desaisiv raises $2 million to expand health insurance in the Middle East
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – Wealth extremes between oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, middle-income countries like Jordan, and unstable economies like Lebanon and Syria …
Climate Finance | February 14, 2023
Sand to Green secures $1 million to regenerate Morocco’s desert
ImpactAlpha, February 14 – France and Morocco-based Sand to Green is completing a three-year sustainable agroforestry pilot that uses valuable crops, like rosemary …
Dealflow | February 13, 2023
Egypt’s Yodawy raises $16 million to digitize prescriptions
ImpactAlpha, February 13 – Egypt offers public health insurance to its 110 million citizens, but gaps in service and care quality drive many …
Frontier and Growth Markets | February 1, 2023
MNT-Halan raises $200 million to expand access to financial services in Egypt
ImpactAlpha, February 1 – MNT-Halan’s evolution into an Egyptian “super-app” is long and complex. The quick version: In 2019, founder Mounir Nakhla merged …
Clean Energy | October 27, 2022
Saudi Aramco launches a $1.5 billion fund for energy-transition technologies
ImpactAlpha, October 27 – Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco announced a $1.5 billion venture fund to invest in in carbon capture and storage, …
Signals | September 1, 2022
Epic floods in Pakistan highlight gap in climate funding for emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 1 – The monsoon-season floods sweeping through Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of children, and created at …
Frontier and Growth Markets | August 3, 2022
Morocco’s UM6P Ventures backs U.S. and Israeli food tech startups
ImpactAlpha, August 3 – UM6P Ventures, the venture investing arm of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, launched last year, supports early-stage science and tech startups …
Good Jobs | May 10, 2022
Manara scores $3 million to upskill tech workers in North Africa and the Middle East
ImpactAlpha, May 10 — Former engineers Iliana Montauk and Laila Abudahi launched Manara last year to offer coding classes for engineering students from …
Frontier and Growth Markets | February 17, 2022
Ibtikar’s second fund for Palestinian tech reaches $15 million first close
ImpactAlpha, February 17 – Ibtikar Fund is building on the thesis of its first fund from 2016: that Palestinian tech entrepreneurs building regional …
Innovative Finance | December 2, 2021
Dutch loan fund links better terms to better educational outcomes
ImpactAlpha, December 2 — The Impact-Linked Fund for Education will deploy social impact incentives and impact-linked loans to education-focused social enterprises and market-based …
Climate Finance | November 10, 2021
European Investment Bank and Allianz Global target €500 million for climate fund
ImpactAlpha, November 10 — Allianz Global, the €633 billion ($733.9 billion) asset management arm of German financial services company Allianz, teamed up with …
Dealflow | September 22, 2021
Dopay raises $18 million to bank Egypt’s businesses and their workers
ImpactAlpha, September 22 – London and Cairo-based Dopay strategy for financial inclusion: offer financial services to businesses – and then signs up their …
Dealflow | August 30, 2021
Khatabook and Bazaar raise financing to digitize small businesses in India and Pakistan
ImpactAlpha, August 30 — Investors continue to swarm enterprise technology providers helping small businesses go online. Last week, Nuvemshop raised $500 million to …
Dealflow | July 6, 2021
MaxAB raises $40 million to digitize Egypt’s mom-and-pop stores
ImpactAlpha, July 6 – Most of Egypt’s 100 million consumers buy staples from small grocery stores and mom-and-pop retailers. MaxAB launched three years …
Impact Tech | April 12, 2021
Village Capital backs tech startups in Jordan and Chile
ImpactAlpha, April 12 — Washington, D.C.-based Village Capital has made its first pair of investments through the early-stage Financial Innovation Fund it manages …
Middle East | April 8, 2021
Egyptian startup funds put North African tech innovation on the map
ImpactAlpha, April 8 – A pair of Cairo-based venture capital funds are supporting entrepreneurs tackling transportation, financial services, market inefficiencies and other regional …
Refugee Lens Investing | April 7, 2021
Kiva closes $32.5 million fund to promote financial inclusion for refugees
ImpactAlpha, April 7 — San Francisco-based Kiva launched in 2005 soared to prominence as a microfinance crowdfunding platform. In its second act, “I …
Dealflow | March 23, 2021
OurCrowd secures $50 million to invest in water and agtech ventures
ImpactAlpha, March 23 — Waterfund, a global water investment firm, is backing Israel-based venture investing platform OurCrowd. The company launched its first impact …
2030 Finance | March 16, 2021
Pure Harvest secures a $50 million sukuk for Middle East greenhouse expansion
ImpactAlpha, March 16 — Abu Dhabi-based Pure Harvest Smart Farms launched in 2016 to provide locally-grown, sustainable food in the United Arab Emirates, …
Dealflow | February 2, 2021
Future Meat raises $26.8 million to go to market with lab-grown chicken
ImpactAlpha, February 2 – The one unproven category in the alternative protein craze is “cellular meat” – lab-grown meat from animal cells – which …
Dealflow | January 7, 2021
Investors back small business inventory financing in Pakistan and Egypt
ImpactAlpha, January 4 – Emerging market tech startups that are supporting the digitization of micro and small businesses are helping lead the COVID recovery. …
Dealflow | December 17, 2020
Global Ventures tightens focuse on global health with investment in Ilara Health
ImpactAlpha, December 17 – Global Ventures hit the market two years ago with an investment thesis focused on leveraging technology to address basic …
Dealflow | June 22, 2020
Egypt’s Chefaa secures early funding for medicine delivery service
ImpactAlpha, June 22 – Cario-based Chefaa launched its prescription drug marketplace in 2017 to help chronic-disease patients fill prescriptions and access items like …
Dealflow | March 10, 2020
Accion Venture Lab invests in Egyptian neobank Khazna
ImpactAlpha, March 10 – Cairo-based fintech Khazna launched in 2019 to bring financial services to 20 million underbanked Egyptians. The company offers mobile …
2030 Finance | December 18, 2019
Capital on the Frontier: Impact in emerging markets is a 2020 growth story
ImpactAlpha, Dece. 18 – Not enough money for promising ventures. Too much money flowing to a few companies. Both statements are true for impact-oriented small …
Good Business | October 29, 2019
Impact washing in the desert
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 29 – The controversial Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia gets underway today. The secret agenda (until yesterday) of the Saudi …
Asia | October 23, 2019
Indonesia’s BMT Bina issues “sharia compliant” bond on blockchain
ImpactAlpha, Oct. 23 – Faith-based investing is not only on the rise, it’s on the cutting edge. Indonesian Islamic microfinance cooperative BMT Bina Ummah raised $50,000 …
Dealflow | June 26, 2019
Israeli tech venture Venn secures $40 million to strengthen urban communities
ImpactAlpha, June 26 – Tel Aviv-based Venn launched in 2016 with a vision of using tech to enable happier, more inclusive city-living. The company has …
Dealflow | May 28, 2019
Agritask raises $6 million to help farmers weather climate change
ImpactAlpha, May 28 – A third of the world depends on agriculture to earn a living. Climate change is making these livelihoods increasingly insecure, particularly …
Africa | April 29, 2019
World Bank dangles $50 million to draw early-stage impact capital to Egypt
ImpactAlpha, April 29 – A third of young Egyptians are unemployed, compared to 13% globally. The World Bank committed $200 million to support …
Agrifood Tech | April 1, 2019
Aqua-Spark backs aquaculture startups BioFishency and Molofeed
ImpactAlpha, April 1 – Dutch sustainable aquaculture investor Aqua-Spark led Israel-based water treatment startup BioFishency’s $2.4 million funding round and invested an undisclosed amount in …
Africa | March 28, 2019
Israel’s Rewire raises $12 million for digital banking for migrants
ImpactAlpha, March 28 – Israeli fintech company Rewire has secured $12 million for its digital banking platform that allows migrants to affordably transfer money to …
Dealflow | March 11, 2019
Israel’s OurCrowd is targeting the Sustainable Development Goals – and measuring its own impact
ImpactAlpha, March 11 – Five out of six Israeli entrepreneurs believe that their businesses are doing social or environmental good. More than one-third …
Dealflow | January 24, 2019
IKEA Foundation backs development impact bond for refugees
ImpactAlpha, January 23 – The philanthropic arm of Swedish furniture company IKEA is committing €6.8 million ($7.7 million) to a development impact bond …
2030 Finance | January 7, 2019
Green for Growth Fund’s loan boosts energy efficiency in Tunisia
ImpactAlpha, January 7 – The Green for Growth Fund, an investment fund for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Europe and North …
Dealflow | September 17, 2018
Egypt’s FreshSource raises seed funds to link farmers to markets
ImpactAlpha, September 17 – The Cairo-based agtech company is trying to boost farmer incomes, cut unnecessary costs, and improve the environmental footprint of …
Dealflow | July 3, 2018
Bridges Israel emphasizes the social in new $50 million impact fund
ImpactAlpha, July 2 – It’s the opportunity to deliver healthcare and housing to Israel’s underserved, not the potential of its hot tech sector, that …
Agrifood Tech | June 27, 2018
California’s Crop One and Emirates partner to bring vertical farming to airlines
ImpactAlpha, June 27 – The partners are forming a $40 million joint venture to build a large indoor farm in Dubai to supply …
Dealflow | May 1, 2018
Calvert Impact Capital invests $5 million in Palestinian housing finance
ImpactAlpha, May 1 – Calvert Impact Capital’s three-year loan is going to Vitas Palestine, a 24-year-old microfinance institution that offers loans for small businesses …
Dealflow | April 9, 2018
Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation lends $2M for microfinance in Jordan
ImpactAlpha, April 9 – The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation made the three-year loan to FINCA Jordan, one of the 20 microfinance institutions in the …
Clean Energy | April 2, 2018
SoftBank backs Saudi Arabia’s ambitious solar effort
ImpactAlpha, April 2 – The renewable energy revolution may be powered by oil money. Saudi Arabia, in a significant escalation of its renewable …