December 2024 - Top 5 Most Funded Startups in MENAPT
As 2024 came to an end, VC activity in the MENAPT region gained some serious momentum. In December 2024, VC funding surged to US $1,567 million, a significant 207% increase from November 2024’s low US $510.1 million and a modest 0.9% year-on-year growth compared to December 2023’s US $1,553 million.
This surge in capital was distributed across 76 deals, 23 less than December last year, meaning substantial sums are now being directed towards more mature ventures, reflected in the 4 major megarounds seen this December.
Let’s take a look at the top funding rounds of December 2024.
#1 - Quantix Technology | FinTech
UAE | US $500 Million Debt Financing
Founded by Abdallah Abu Sheikh in 2019, Quantix Technology operates as a subsidiary of Astra Tech specializes in consumer lending and financial services to provide technical services and computer system designs. Quantix integrates various functionalities into a seamless ecosystem through its Ultra app offering services such as payments, cross-border transfers, and financing solutions to a growing user base of over 150 million globally.
In December 2024, Quantix raised US $500 million in one of the largest debt financing rounds provided to a UAE fintech to date. The funds will be used to expand Quantix's range of financial services, enhance the Ultra app ecosystem, and develop new features such as Sharia-compliant lending, credit cards, and SME lending.
#2 - Nostromo | Energy
Israel | US $305.5 Million Debt Financing
Founded by Yaron Ben Nun and Eyal Ziv in 2017, Nostromo Energy focuses on developing sustainable energy storage solutions using water-based technology. Nostromo's IceBrick® system is a modular thermal energy storage solution that uses water to store and discharge energy in the form of ice, helping commercial and industrial buildings manage their peak energy demand, reduce emissions, and lower energy costs.
In December 2024, Nostromo secured US $305.5 million in debt financing from the U.S. Department of Energy. The funds will be used for Project IceBrick®, which aims to deploy Nostromo's IceBrick® systems in 193 commercial buildings across California to help reduce costs, emissions, and grid strain related to electricity for commercial cooling.
#3 - Cadena | SalesTech
UAE | US $183 Million Series B
Founded by Sid Dhamija and Yusuf Al Hasan in 2017, Cadena is a global leader in international business development, providing robust tools and services to streamline the process of overseas revenue growth. Its hybrid solution combines local sales expertise, AI-driven prospecting tools, and CadenaPay invoice factoring, a unique solution focused on getting service providers paid on time.
In December 2024, Cadena raised US $183 million in its Series B funding round led by ADCN for a total funding of US $258.3 million. The funds will be used to expand Cadena's AI-driven sales tools, enhance their global presence, and further develop their proprietary technology platforms.
#4 - ALLO | Asset Tokenization
UAE | US $100 Million Debt Financing
Founded by Kingsley Advani and Guillaume Duhan in 2023, ALLO specializes in decentralized finance (DeFi), enabling the tokenization and trading of real-world assets such as equity, real estate, commodities, credit, oil, gas, and treasuries. ALLO aims to bridge traditional finance with blockchain technology, offering innovative solutions for both institutional and individual participants, providing a marketplace for trading tokenized assets, staking services, and borrowing options to a database of over 2 million prospects.
In December 2024, ALLO secured US $100 million in debt financing. This round was led by Greengage and an unnamed “long-standing US institution”. The funds will be used to expand ALLO's Bitcoin-backed lending services and enhance their Bitcoin (BTC) staking solution, catering to institutional and individual participants eager to engage in the growing crypto lending market.
#5 - CredibleX | FinTech
UAE | US $55 Million Seed
Founded by Ahmad Malik, Anand Nagaraj, and Hassan Reda in 2023, CredibleX is an embedded finance platform that provides working capital finance solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The CredibleX platform integrates lending solutions into the day-to-day operations of SMEs, making it easier for them to access financing without the traditional barriers, with services including fixed-term loans, invoice factoring, and accounts receivables financing.
In December 2024, CredibleX raised US $55 million in its Seed funding round led by Further Ventures. The funds will be used to accelerate CredibleX's growth, enhance its platform, expand its team, and broaden its services to support more SMEs in the UAE.