Inaugural

BREAKING 🇦🇪: GymNation just closed $100M from HPS Investment Partners, LLC (part of BlackRock ), one of the largest private credit investments ever made into a GCC-born, founder-led consumer brand. Eight years ago, founders Loren , Frank , and Ant were paying AED 400+ per month for substandard gyms in Dubai. The market was broken. Dubai was the second most expensive city globally for gym memberships. UAE fitness penetration was only 5%. They opened their first location in Al Quoz in 2018 with a simple pitch: world-class facilities, 24/7 access, AED 99/month, no annual lock-in. Site one hit 10,000 members within 12 months. The model worked. Today: 50 locations, 200,000+ members across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. The Middle East's largest low-cost gym operator. Now GymNation is pushing a GCC expansion targeting 100+ locations in the next three years. New regional headquarters opening in Riyadh. First gym outside the region launching soon in Asia. Loren, Frank, and Ant, huge congrats to everyone at GymNation 👏🏼 👀 Interested in MENA tech & startups? Sign up to my weekly newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/dJMzb8Tt in partnership with CapQuest . #MENA #startup #VC

JUST IN: Mohamed Alabbar is launching noon in Syria. Most investors look at post-conflict markets and see risk. Alabbar sees talent, market potential, and the chance to prove something important. In a video posted Sunday, the Emaar founder announced Noon is launching operations in Syria, building on $18 billion in investment pledges he's made in the past week. Noon already operates across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Egypt. Syria becomes the eighth market. The announcement comes days after Alabbar joined a large UAE business delegation to Damascus for the first bilateral business forum since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. US sanctions were removed by executive order, Congress repealed the Caesar Act in December, and EU sanctions were lifted in May 2025. Syria's Central Bank is now pursuing its first-ever sovereign credit rating to access global capital markets. The broader investment portfolio Alabbar is assessing includes $5-7 billion in projects on the Syrian coast and up to $11 billion in Damascus and the surrounding areas. Real estate construction could start within six months in collaboration with Syrian investors. He's also targeting tourism, projecting Syria could reach 8 million tourists within five years. At its peak in 2010, before the civil war, Syria attracted 8.5 million tourists annually. Gulf investors are rushing in to grab early-mover advantage while valuations are low and competition is limited. 👀 Interested in MENA tech & startups? Sign up to my weekly newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/dJMzb8Tt in partnership with CapQuest. #MENA #startup #VC