Author: Editorial Board

Early-stage startups from Central Eurasia have just day left to apply for Road to Battlefield 2026, a regional initiative that will award $100,000 in investment and provide a direct pathway to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 and TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco. The program is organized in partnership with IT PARK Uzbekistan, Silkroad Innovation Hub, and Astana Hub to help the region’s most promising startups gain international exposure, connect with global investors, and accelerate their expansion into international markets. Three winning startups will share a total investment pool of $100,000, with $50,000 awarded to the first-place team, $30,000 to the…

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has introduced a regulatory framework governing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, aiming to promote financial inclusion, encourage innovation in digital finance, and strengthen consumer protection. The new framework establishes licensing and regulatory requirements for BNPL providers, allowing consumers to purchase goods and services immediately and repay the amount through scheduled instalments over a defined period. Under the regulations, consumers can access BNPL facilities with a combined spending limit of up to RO1,500 across all licensed service providers, while repayment periods are limited to a maximum of 12 months. The framework places a strong…

Beltone Venture Capital (BVC), the venture capital arm of Beltone Holding, is strengthening its support for two of Egypt’s fastest-growing consumer brands, ariika and Lychee, as both companies accelerate their expansion into Saudi Arabia. The expansion will see a combined five new retail stores open in Riyadh, with home furnishings brand ariika launching two locations and healthy food and beverage chain Lychee opening three. BVC said the move reflects its strategy of helping high-growth Egyptian companies scale beyond their home market and establish themselves as regional consumer brands. Ali Mokhtar, CEO of Beltone Venture Capital, said: “ariika and Lychee represent…

UAE: Network International (Network), a leading fintech company across the Middle East and Africa, has announced the launch of Slice, its new instant card-based instalments solution offering zero interest and zero fees on purchases in the UAE, in collaboration with leading participating banks. Slice is the next step in Network’s mission to bring payment technologies to market that enable merchants to accept every type of payment while empowering consumers to pay the way they want. Shoppers can instantly convert their transactions into instalments without registering with instalment platforms or waiting for approvals. For purchases starting from AED 100, customers will…

Kazakhstan-based fintech and technology giant Kaspi.kz has received regulatory approval from Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) to acquire Rabobank A.Ş., marking another milestone in its international expansion strategy. The transaction is expected to close in July 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. The approval follows the share purchase agreement signed earlier between Kaspi.kz and Rabobank for the acquisition of its Turkish banking subsidiary. “Our approval from BDDK is an important milestone for Kaspi.kz and a significant step forward in developing our business in the Turkish market,” said Mikhail Lomtadze, co-founder and CEO of Kaspi.kz. He added that the…

As the challenges of climate change, water stress, and rising agricultural production costs continue to grow, precision technologies are emerging as a strategic lever to strengthen the productivity and resilience of farms. In this context, 216 Capital announces its entry into the capital of RoboCare, a Tunisian startup specialising in precision agriculture and artificial intelligence applied to the agricultural sector, through a six-figure investment. This deal aims to support RoboCare’s next growth phase and its expansion into African and Middle Eastern markets. A Technology for Higher-Performing and Sustainable Agriculture Founded in Sfax, RoboCare develops an agricultural management platform that helps…

Numi today emerged from stealth as the first AI-native personal finance management platform built for the GCC region. The company was founded by Leni Andronicos (CEO) and Usman Azim (CTO), with a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Oxford University, engineers from Microsoft and IBM, and banking experts from UBS, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered. Where most personal finance apps show users their money, Numi is building a service that actually manages it autonomously. The company is teaching AI agents to handle a user’s entire financial life — paying bills, investing, and managing debt, loans…

Causa Prima, a startup building AI-powered infrastructure for B2B finance, has raised $10 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Creandum, with participation from Borusan Ventures, Kfund, HelloWorld, Angel Invest, and a group of angel investors from companies including Qonto, Pennylane, SAP, ING, SoFi, Lidl, and Google DeepMind. The company is tackling one of the most persistent inefficiencies in enterprise finance: the fragmented systems used by buyers and suppliers to manage payables, receivables, invoice disputes, and payment terms. Founded by veteran fintech entrepreneur Maex Ament, whose previous company Taulia was acquired by SAP, Causa Prima is building an agent-to-agent…

Istanbul-based sustainable commerce startup Revogo has secured a $300,000 investment from Akbank. The company said it will use the funding to further develop its platform, expand operations, and scale the purchasing, refurbishment, and resale processes for baby and childcare products. Founded by Nur Aras, Önder Hakan Topuz, and Melih Aydın, Revogo was developed through Akbank LAB, the innovation center of Akbank. The startup operates a circular economy-based recommerce platform focused on baby, childcare, and parenting products. Revogo purchases lightly used items such as strollers, car seats, and high chairs directly from parents, providing sellers with immediate cash payments. The products…

Türkiye-based venture factory Ideasets has secured $1.25 million in pre-seed funding at a $10 million valuation, with participation from investor and conglomerate Gelecek Holding. Founded in December 2025 by Berk Üder, Saltukhan Gülşen, and Arif Çelen, Ideasets is building what it describes as a next-generation venture factory that combines artificial intelligence, data science, and predictive systems to identify future market opportunities and transform them into digital products and startups. Rather than operating as a traditional startup studio, Ideasets focuses on analyzing digital behavioral data across 140 global markets. The company aims to detect emerging consumer demand patterns before they become…