Digital mental health startup Arab Therapy has raised $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Jordanian firm Manara Ventures, with participation from Middle East and North Africa-based Anara Impact Fund and Saudi Arabia’s Value Makers Studio (VMS). The company plans to use the investment to accelerate its expansion in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the region, as well as expand its integrated, AI-powered mental health platform.
Arab Therapy was founded in 2021 by Jordanian entrepreneurs Dr. Tarek Dalbah and Hikmat Al-Hassi. The company provides services to individuals and organizations through two models: a business-to-consumer (B2C) platform and business-to-business (B2B) programs aimed at supporting employee well-being and mental health.
An Arabic Mental Health Platform
The platform offers online therapy sessions provided by licensed specialists, alongside a comprehensive library of mental health content and a range of Arabic-native artificial intelligence tools. According to information provided by the company, its clinical framework is overseen by certified specialists affiliated with the University of Hamburg in Germany.
The company was founded in Berlin, Germany, by Jordanian founders and currently operates in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany, and Egypt. Arab Therapy targets Arabic speakers, in addition to organizations seeking to improve mental health and employee well-being on a broader scale.
Funding Regional Expansion
The new funding will help the company expand in the Saudi market and the rest of the Middle East, accelerate product development, and make personalized mental healthcare available to a larger number of users. The article did not disclose details regarding the company’s valuation or the timeline for implementing its expansion plans.
The new round follows Arab Therapy’s closure of a $1 million seed funding round in April 2024, led by Flat6Labs and Vision Health Pioneers.
A Gap in Arabic-Language Services
The company says demand for mental health support among Arabs worldwide is increasing, while access to care that accounts for language and culture remains limited. The article notes that more than 400 million people speak Arabic in the Middle East and North Africa, in addition to an estimated 30 to 50 million Arabs living outside the region, while English-language digital mental health content and services dominate a significant portion of the market.
Dr. Tarek Dalbah, CEO and co-founder of Arab Therapy, said the company was founded to address limited access to mental health support in Arabic and in a manner suited to local culture, adding that the round would enable it to expand into new markets and develop deeper products.
For her part, Luma Fawaz, managing director at Manara Ventures, said the round marks the fund’s beginning of support for the company, while Nadia Mokaddem, principal at Anara Impact Fund, described Arab Therapy as building mental health infrastructure in the region. Moataz Abuanaq, founder and CEO of VMS, said the platform could help expand access to high-quality mental healthcare thanks to its language- and culture-linked design.