Bahrain's PROCODE raises undisclosed pre-seed for AI-native esports operations

MANAMA — PROCODE, a Manama-based AI-native operating system for esports, has raised an undisclosed pre-seed round plus grant capital from the Standard Chartered Foundation's Women in Tech Accelerator, Disrupt Africa reports.

Founded in 2024 by Shahd AlZaki and Rami Jamal, the platform's four modules, Compete, Train, Pay and Deploy, cover tournament operations end to end. It claims 4,000 users, seven coaches, ten tournaments managed and three ambassadors with 550,000 combined followers, positioned Arabic-native and MENA-first.

Gulf esports spending has concentrated at the top: sovereign-backed tournaments, arena events and team acquisitions. What the region lacks is operational infrastructure for the grassroots and semi-professional layers, where tournaments are still run on spreadsheets and WhatsApp. PROCODE's four-module platform is aimed directly at that missing middle.

The read: esports in the Gulf has a top layer of sovereign spectacle and a missing middle of actual competitive infrastructure. PROCODE is building the plumbing for that middle. The proof point to watch is a recurring league or federation contract, because one-off tournaments are marketing while season-long operations are revenue.