by admin | Oct 4, 2024 | Startups News
Al Menu, a Saudi company specializing in restaurant operational solutions, raised 38 million Saudi Riyals (USD 10.3 million) in a recent funding round led by Al Majdiah Investment. The company will use this funding to expand and cement its position in Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing hospitality sector.
Aligning with Vision 2030
This investment aligns with Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s strategic plan to diversify its economy. The initiative focuses on strengthening non-oil sectors, including hospitality. With the newly raised capital, Al Menu plans to streamline restaurant operations by offering advanced tools that lower costs and improve workforce efficiency.
Driving Efficiency in Restaurant Operations
Al Menu’s CEO, Mamdoh Ali, expressed the company’s mission to deliver scalable and efficient solutions. These tools are designed to help restaurants reduce costs and enhance operational management. As a result, this will positively affect the hospitality industry, which is a key part of Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation.
Supporting Vision 2030 Goals
Nasser Al Majid, CEO of Al Majdiah Investment, highlighted that this investment supports Vision 2030’s focus on hospitality. By improving operational efficiency, Al Menu contributes to making Saudi Arabia’s restaurant industry more attractive to investors.
In conclusion, Al Menu’s innovative solutions will help the company play a significant role in shaping the future of Saudi Arabia’s restaurant industry. As the sector grows, the company’s approach will likely attract more investment, driving both economic growth and the realization of Vision 2030.
by admin | Sep 17, 2024 | Startups News
by admin | Aug 2, 2024 | Startups News
Synapse Analytics, a pioneering AI startup, has announced the successful completion of a USD 2 million funding round. This round was led by Silicon Badia and Hub 71 Abu Dhabi. This investment will propel the expansion of Synapse Analytics’ AI technologies across the GCC and Africa. It will also enhance financial decision-making capabilities for regional institutions. Notably, in 2022, the company secured Series A funding of USD 2 million. This round was led by Egypt Ventures, with participation from Cloudera’s founder, Amr Awadallah, and Africa Platforms Founder, Simon Rowlands.
Addressing Socioeconomic Challenges with AI
As part of Hub71 Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, Synapse Analytics addresses critical socioeconomic challenges. These include financial inclusion and access. By providing advanced AI software, the company aims to revolutionize financial decisions. This includes credit scoring, cross-selling, dynamic pricing, and eKYC/eKYB processes.
AI-Driven Financial Inclusion
Ahmed Abaza, Co-Founder and CEO of Synapse Analytics, emphasized the transformative potential of AI in financial services. “AI isn’t just a tool—it’s the catalyst for making financial inclusion a reality in the MEA region,” Abaza stated. “Our technology helps financial institutions make their services inclusive, accessible, affordable, convenient, empowering, and safe.” He envisions a future where accessing financing is as simple as signing up for an app. Banks will anticipate customer needs to deliver highly personalized services.
Innovative Solutions for Financial Institutions
To further illustrate, Synapse Analytics offers a suite of cutting-edge solutions, including:
- Konan: This flagship Machine Learning Operations platform integrates AI into financial institutions’ existing decision-making processes. Konan’s prebuilt models and data enrichment features optimize risk assessment. They also increase loan approval accuracy and expand customer coverage. Consequently, financial institutions benefit from Konan’s ability to streamline operations and improve decision-making efficiency.
- Doxter: A comprehensive document extraction and process automation platform. Doxter processes and stores verifiable data from various documents. It offers full Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) for faster onboarding and decision-making, particularly for MSMEs. By automating document processing, Doxter reduces administrative burdens and accelerates service delivery. This enhances customer satisfaction and operational agility.
Seamless Integration and Core Competency
Galal El Beshbishy, Co-Founder and COO, highlighted the importance of seamlessly integrating AI with existing data sources, core banking, and loan systems. “Our core competency lies in successfully shipping AI workloads to production in a safe, secure, and controllable manner,” El Beshbishy said. This capability allows financial institutions to approve more customers while maintaining rigorous risk management standards. By leveraging AI, institutions can enhance their risk assessment capabilities, reduce default rates, and offer more tailored financial products to a broader customer base.
Strategic Partnerships and Market Impact
Moreover, Synapse Analytics has established partnerships with major banking product providers such as AWS, Crealogix, and TUMM. This positions it as a key player in the region’s AI-driven transformation. These partnerships enable Synapse Analytics to integrate its solutions seamlessly with existing financial infrastructure. This ensures that its AI technologies are accessible and effective for a wide range of financial institutions.
Impact on Financial Institutions
Hamed Masri, Partner at Silicon Badia, noted the company’s standout proprietary technology. This technology addresses critical pain points for financial institutions, significantly impacting non-performing loan (NPL) rates and processing times. “We see many AI companies, but Synapse stood out for its proprietary technology that addresses critical pain points for financial institutions,” Masri commented. “The impact clients see on NPL rates and processing times speaks volumes about the strength of their product. We’re excited about the versatility of their tech in other verticals and believe there’s no better team to execute on the founders’ vision.”
Future Prospects
Founded in Cairo, Egypt, with a regional hub in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Synapse Analytics is recognized among the top 100 companies leading the 4th Industrial Revolution by the World Economic Forum. The company’s commitment to AI excellence is further underscored by its highly competitive internship programs. These programs attract over 12,000 applicants annually. They cultivate the next generation of AI talent and ensure a steady influx of innovative ideas and perspectives that drive the company’s continuous growth and development.
Conclusion
In summary, Synapse Analytics’ strategic approach to AI implementation, combined with its robust technological infrastructure and visionary leadership, positions it as a formidable force in the fintech landscape. With the new funding, the company is set to accelerate its mission of transforming financial services. This will ensure that the benefits of AI are realized across the region.
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by admin | Jul 11, 2024 | Startups News
In a landmark move to propel AI innovation and economic growth across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Progressio Solutions and Real AI B.V. announced a strategic joint venture. Moreover, the partnership, unveiled at the Invest EU Egypt Conference, aims to double AI revenues in MENA within three years.
Progressio & Real AI: Combining Expertise for MENA AI Leadership
Firstly, this collaboration brings together the strengths of two industry leaders:
- Real AI B.V., a Netherlands-based AI powerhouse, contributes advanced AI expertise and a strong European foothold.
- Progressio Solutions, a leading R&D and consulting firm in Cairo, offers extensive regional experience and robust R&D capabilities.
By merging their strengths, they aim to accelerate AI adoption and development in key MENA markets like Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the GCC region.
Focus on Secure, Localized AI Solutions
Secondly, The partnership prioritizes developing secure and localized AI solutions tailored to the needs of MENA institutions and businesses. Real AI’s open-source, human-centric large language model (LLM) will be adapted to comply with MENA’s specific regulations and language requirements (Arabic language processing).
“Our vision is to position MENA as a global AI hub,” said Tarry Singh, CEO of Real AI B.V. “By combining our secure, ethical AI with Progressio’s local R&D prowess, we are not just serving the market – we are shaping the future of AI in MENA.”
A Cairo-Based AI Research Center
thirdly, a core aspect of the partnership involves establishing a state-of-the-art AI research center in Cairo. This center will focus on developing custom AI solutions for various sectors, including energy, education, healthcare, and government. Additionally, it will launch AI products specifically designed for the MENA market.
“Combining our R&D labs with Real AI’s platforms unlocks value for clients and partners,” emphasized Yoeil Ashraf, CEO of Progressio Solutions. “This partnership will expand Egypt’s AI R&D capacity, driven by local talent, and extend services beyond the Middle East into Europe.”
Driving Economic Growth and Ethical AI
Furthermore, This joint venture signifies a significant step towards introducing advanced and responsible AI technologies across MENA. It has the potential to drive innovation, enhance regional AI capabilities, and foster economic growth across various sectors. The focus will be on developing AI consulting services, nurturing local AI talent, and ensuring ethical AI use.
Shaping the Future of AI in MENA
in conclusion, this collaborative effort holds immense potential to transform the AI landscape in MENA, positioning the region as a global AI leader.
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