July 2025 Investment Snapshot: Southeast Asia & MENA

July marked another scorching month for emerging markets, with Southeast Asia and MENA both showing strong funding momentum. From fintech to healthtech and advanced hardware, capital continued to flow into high-growth startups, reflecting global investor confidence in these ecosystems.

Southeast Asia (SEA)

Top July 2025 deals in SEA:

• Thunes (Singapore) – Raised $150 M in a Series D to scale its cross‑border payments infrastructure across emerging markets. Backed by Visa and major sovereign funds.

• Airwallex (Singapore) – Raised $150 M in a Series F as it doubled down on international expansion across Asia-Pacific and Europe.

• Bolttech (Singapore) – Raised $147 M in a Series C for its embedded insurtech platform, pushing its valuation to $2.1 B. New strategic backers Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital joined existing investors Dragon Fund, Baillie Gifford, and Generali’s Lion River. Funds will enhance personalization, platform capability, and fuel global expansion

• Kredivo (Indonesia) – Closed a ~$100 M Series C to extend its BNPL and digital lending footprint beyond Indonesia.

• Oyika (Singapore) – Secured $8.75M in a Series B round from Banpu NEXT to expand its EV battery-swapping network across Southeast Asia. The mobility and energy transition play is gaining real traction.

• VFlowTech (Singapore) – Raised funding (undisclosed) to scale its iron-flow battery systems, positioning itself as a green tech leader in long-duration energy storage. Clean power needs new chemistry and this is it.

• Manabie (Singapore) – Raised $23M to accelerate its hybrid learning model combining digital tools with offline academic support. The future of education isn’t online or offline.

MENA

Top July 2025 deals in MENA:

• Xpanceo (UAE) – Raised $250 M Series A to develop smart AR/night-vision contact lenses. A rare deeptech blockbuster.

• Huspy (UAE) – Secured $59 M Series B to digitize mortgage processes across UAE and Saudi Arabia.

• PetroApp (Saudi Arabia) – Raised $50 M Series A to offer enterprise fuel‑management solutions to oil & logistics sectors.

• Ziina (UAE) – Landed $22 M Series A to scale its peer-to-peer mobile payment and SME financing app.

• Proptech Venture (UAE/Egypt) – Collected ~$77 M across clustered investments to reshape real estate transactions and rental experience.

• WakeCap (Saudi Arabia) – Raised funding $28M to expand its smart construction site solutions. The company equips workers with wearable IoT devices and sensors to enhance safety and enable real-time site monitoring. Sensors and wearables are changing the hard hat economy.

• Lucidya (Saudi Arabia) – Raised $30M in a Series B round, the largest AI funding in MENA to date. The customer experience analytics platform uses Arabic-native AI to help businesses monitor and engage audiences across digital channels.

Investor Insights

Instagram's @‌VC_Funding_Tracker spotlighted increasing participation from international funds, with notable deals led by:

• Centific

• Nawy

• Investigate

DealStreetAsia’s July coverage confirms a clear trend toward larger late-stage rounds, emphasizing growing ecosystem maturity and stronger LP confidence.

Exits & IPO Outlook

July brought several exit-related developments, amplifying expectations for IPOs in late 2025. Increased exit momentum is feeding greater liquidity optimism among founders and investors.

WOWS Global Perspective

As SEA and MENA continue their funding surges, WOWS Global remains at the center of high-impact dealmaking connecting capital with high-growth startups across fintech, healthtech, deeptech, and enterprise software.

Expect even more transformative VC action as regional ecosystems mature and exit potential accelerates.