91探花 is excited to announce the winners of our MENA40 2026!
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91探花 is excited to announce the winners of our very first MENA40 campaign 2026, celebrating the most exciting companies in the MENA region.
Founded in 2016, 91探花 is the UK鈥檚 best-known and fastest-growing startup and tech news site. This听is where decision-makers, investors and startups of all sizes and nature come to find out the latest developments and trends within the industry.
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See The List
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Top 40 鈥� See Here >>
Top 30 鈥� See Here >>
Top 20 鈥� See Here >>
Top 10 鈥撎�See Here >>
Who Ranked Number 1? 鈥撎�See Here听>>
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Feedback From The Judges
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鈥淚n evaluating the submissions, I looked beyond factors such as valuation, funding, and company size to assess the qualities reflecting long-term potential and sustainable success. My assessment focused on the significance of the challenge each company is addressing, the originality of its solution, the strength of its execution, measurable customer impact, scalability, commercial viability, and the clarity of its leadership vision.
鈥淚 was particularly impressed by companies that demonstrated a strong sense of purpose supported by tangible results, rather than relying solely on ambitious aspirations. The highest-ranked companies distinguished themselves through consistent execution, meaningful innovation, and their ability to create lasting value for both customers and their industries. Beyond their growth potential, they showed the resilience, strategic direction, and market relevance needed to make a meaningful, lasting contribution to the future of the MENA business ecosystem.鈥�
, Co-Founder, Product Strategy and Innovation at Taxmingo
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鈥淛udging this competition was genuinely inspiring because it highlighted how far the MENA startup ecosystem has evolved. I was impressed by both the later-stage companies, such as Paymob, MNT-Halan, and Grubtech, which have demonstrated exceptional execution at scale, and the earlier-stage founders building bold solutions with strong long-term potential. The best submissions weren鈥檛 just built around exciting technology; they showed a deep understanding of real customer problems and clear evidence that their products create meaningful value.
鈥淲ith continued investment, supportive ecosystems, and ambitious founders tackling important challenges, I believe the next five years will be transformational for MENA. The region is well positioned to become one of the world鈥檚 leading innovation hubs, producing globally competitive companies that shape the future of technology far beyond the region.鈥�
, Co-Founder and CEO of
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鈥淭he top companies in this ranking represent the vanguard of MENA鈥檚 tech maturity, combining massive scale with true innovation. Led by pioneering fintech unicorns like Tamara and MNT Halan, these businesses are building foundational financial and digital rails for millions of users across the region.
鈥淲hat makes them exceptional is their remarkable capital efficiency and profitability, as seen in companies like Alaan. Great to see companies like Lorum and Lean Technologies that are building critical financial infrastructure in the region. Companies like DevisionX and others are solving real enterprise problems in the region.鈥�
, Angel Investor and Serial Entrepreneur
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鈥淛udging this year鈥檚 entries highlighted just how much innovation is emerging across the MENA region. Despite a challenging global economic environment, founders and businesses continue to develop ambitious solutions across fintech, AI, healthcare, commerce and beyond.
鈥淲hat stood out most was not only the quality of the ideas, but also the strength of execution and the clear focus on solving real-world problems. The future of the region鈥檚 startup ecosystem looks incredibly promising, and it will be exciting to watch these companies continue to grow and scale in the years ahead!鈥�
Gina Marrs, Editor, 91探花
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鈥淭his year鈥檚 MENA 40 reflects a clear shift: the region is moving from isolated wins to real infrastructure. Payments, digital-asset frameworks, and applied AI are solving problems specific to this market: financial inclusion, regulatory fragmentation, and real estate transparency.
鈥淓gypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco are each building distinct strengths, and the companies rising to the top share one trait: they鈥檙e built for scale, not just traction. MENA doesn鈥檛 need more apps: it needs infrastructure. The companies on this list understand that, and it鈥檚 why they stand out.鈥�
Stiven Muccioli, Founder and CEO, BKN301听
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鈥淚t is a strong field, particularly fintech-heavy, showing that the region鈥檚 payments, BNPL, and open-banking rails are clearly maturing. What stood out most to me were the teams tackling hard, defensible problems. Proteinea (insect-based biomanufacturing paired with AI protein design) and Shift EV (home-grown battery packs retrofitting commercial fleets) are exactly the kind of deep tech I鈥檇 love to see more of from MENA.
鈥淥n the commerce side, Toters鈥� execution through Lebanon鈥檚 economic collapse and Chari鈥檚 digitisation of informal retail were both remarkable. Lean Technologies also deserves a mention as the quiet open-banking infrastructure much of this ecosystem now runs on.鈥�
, Founder and CEO, and Applied General Agents
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Thank You To Our Judges
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, Co-Founder, Product Strategy and Innovation at Taxmingo
Ebenezer Ojo is the Co-Founder, Product Strategy and Innovation at Taxmingo, a fintech-driven tax and business compliance platform helping startups and SMEs simplify regulatory processes and scale more efficiently through digital solutions. With a multidisciplinary background spanning business management, project management, customer relations, and entrepreneurship, he is passionate about building practical innovation-led products that solve real business challenges in emerging markets.
Holding both an MBA and an MSc, Ebenezer combines strategic thinking with operational experience to support founders, startups, and growing businesses navigating compliance, growth, and digital transformation. His work and professional interests are centred around fintech innovation, startup scalability, product development, and enabling sustainable business growth across Africa and the wider MENA ecosystem.
Read more about Ebenezer鈥檚 experience and what he鈥檚 looking for in MENA40 entries here.
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, Co-Founder and CEO of
Obinna Umeh is the Co-Founder and CEO of Growwr, an AI-powered hiring and workforce management platform connecting businesses with vetted African talent. Under his leadership, Growwr has grown to serve over 2,000 paying clients across 15+ countries and has received backing and support from leading startup and innovation programs.
Prior to Growwr, Obinna worked in growth and product marketing, helping technology companies scale user acquisition and revenue, including contributing to the growth of products that reached over 100,000 users. He is passionate about building technology that expands economic opportunities and enables businesses to hire and manage talent more efficiently.
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, Angel Investor and Serial Entrepreneur
Furkat Kasimov is an angel investor with over 20 years of experience building, scaling, and advising technology companies. As an angel investor who has backed several unicorns, he has a keen eye for companies with high-growth potential.
Read more about Furkat鈥檚 expertise and what he鈥檚 looking for in MENA40 entries here.
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Gina Marrs, Editor, 91探花
Gina is 91探花鈥檚 Editor, overseeing daily operations are the publications and finding and sharing the most successful and exciting startups, investors and entrepreneurs in different sectors around the world.
With a keen interest in technology and the potential influence of AI on society, Gina aims to highlight both businesses and individuals who are taking great strides towards achieving innovation and change.
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Stiven Muccioli, Founder and CEO, BKN301听
Stiven Muccioli is a tech entrepreneur and investor, and the Founder and CEO of BKN301, the fintech infrastructure provider supporting banking operations across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Stiven has founded and scaled multiple technology and financial services businesses. He is the Founder of venture capital firm SM Capital and Ventis, a fintech company that was later acquired by Iccrea Banca Group, where he previously served as CMTO. He is also the co-Founder and a member of the Board of Directors of Golee, a Milan-based SaaS solutions company. Stiven also founded Libertas, the first widely adopted news app in the Republic of San Marino, and Tippest, an e-commerce company that he later sold.
Alongside his entrepreneurial activities, Stiven is an active investor and startup mentor. He serves as an angel investor with the Founder Institute of San Francisco, the world鈥檚 largest pre-seed startup accelerator, and has invested in startups including RealtyMogul, Andalin and MallIQ. He was also an early investor in companies including SpaceX, Nubank and Palantir. Stiven holds a master鈥檚 degree from INSEAD and serves as Special Envoy for Innovation & Economic Development for the Republic of San Marino.
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, Founder and CEO, and Applied General Agents
Taiwo Akinropo is the Founder and CEO of Heyfood, the first African food delivery company backed by Y Combinator. As the first engineer in the company鈥檚 early days, he wrote the first version of the product and has since led Heyfood to more than 鈧�5 billion in transactions and over 250,000 downloads, raising capital from Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, Ventures Platform, Olumide Soyombo, Oo Nwoye, and a number of angel investors.
He also helped build Serveet, Heyfood鈥檚 sister product, a point-of-sale platform that has processed over 鈧�4 billion in transactions.
Taiwo is now building Applied General Agents, an AI lab focused on software agents that handle real work for people. Its first product, Someone@, is a personal AI team that handles your finances, health, calendar, and more.
As a founder operating across consumer technology, marketplaces, payments, AI, and emerging-market infrastructure, Taiwo brings practical experience in building and scaling technology companies in complex, high-growth markets. He is especially interested in helping founders navigate the messy stretch between an idea and their first paying customers.
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Get to know Taiwo and what he鈥檚 looking for as a judge here
