Zest Your Equity | 14-May-2025

This week’s agenda 📜

• Terms and concepts ✍️

• Who’s raising? 💰

• M&A activity 🤝

• What we’re reading 📖

Let’s dive in 👇

Terms and concepts ✍️

Non-dilutive financing: Non-dilutive financing refers to any form of capital that allows startups to raise money without giving up equity ownership.

These financing options are typically structured as loans, revenue-share agreements, or milestone-based payouts. Common examples include venture debt, revenue-based financing, grants, recurring revenue credit lines, and government subsidies or tax credits. Each comes with trade-offs: for example, while you avoid dilution, you take on repayment obligations that can stress cash flow if not properly forecasted.

Non-dilutive funding works best for startups with predictable revenue, strong gross margins, or specific use cases (e.g. capital-efficient SaaS, government-backed R&D). It’s especially attractive to founders who prioritize control, plan to grow profitably, or don’t fit the hyper-growth model of venture capital.

Revenue-based financing: A form of funding where startups receive capital in exchange for a percentage of future revenue until a repayment cap is hit. Your payment obligations can increase and decrease based on your performance, making it ideal for recurring-revenue or consumer businesses that want to avoid dilution.

Venture debt: A loan structure often paired with an equity round, where startups borrow capital and agree to repay with interest, sometimes alongside small equity warrants. It’s non-dilutive up front and useful for extending runway without raising new equity.

Who’s raising? 💰

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based proptech Nawy has raised $52 million in a Series A equity round led by Partech, with participation from e& Capital, March Capital, VKAV, DPI via Nclude, VentureSouq, Shorooq, and others. An additional $23 million in debt was secured from major Egyptian banks to support its growing mortgage offering, Nawy Now.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based contech WakeCap has secured $28 million in new funding at the Saudi-US Investment Forum to expand its services and technologies for improving construction site safety and productivity.

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based fintech Money Fellows has raised $13 million in a strategic funding round co-led by Al Mada Ventures and DPI Venture Capital via the Nclude Fund, with participation from Partech, CommerzVentures, and other investors.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based AI company AqlanX has secured a $10 million investment from Lakeba Group via its AI venture DoxAI, facilitated through the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based healthtech Tuba has raised $8 million in a pre-seed round led by Al-Waalan Investment with participation from angel investors.

• 🇵🇰 Pakistan-based healthtech MedIQ has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by Rasmal Ventures and Joa Capital, with participation from existing investors.

• 🇪🇬 Egypt-based B2B medtech iSUPPLY has secured $3 million in Sharia-compliant revenue-based revolving financing from Bokra.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based fintech Nqoodlet has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Waad Investments, with participation from OmanTel, 500 Sanabil Investment, Oqal, Seed Holding, and other investors.

• 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia-based healthtech Kilow has raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Sanabil Venture Studio, in partnership with Stryber.

• 🇦🇪 UAE-based logistics and supply chain startup Canater has raised $1 million in investment from Foras for 10% equity.

M&A activity

• UAE cybersecurity firm CPX acquires AI innovator spiderSilk. Source.

Want to learn more? Schedule a time with our team below!