UAE Tops MENA Startup Funding in November with $146M in 11 Deals

News 17 Dec 2024

The UAE continues to dominate other countries in funding, taking the lion’s share across the MENA nations, funding 146 million through 11 deals in November 2024. To that end, closing big funding rounds in Eyewa and Lean Technologies was possible for $100 million and $67.5 million, respectively.

The rest had Saudi Arabia at $94 Million from 23 deals. Egyptian market was in third position, which was growing sharply- recorded $ 16 million from 8 deals, sharply up from $ 1.6 million during October despite all the geopolitical crisis Egypt has experienced, including its fluctuating currency.

All in all, MENA-based tech startups raised $258 million exclusively in 46 deals in November. That is a 92 percent increase to that count in October. But it is 196% down from the $764 million recorded in November 2023. However, narrowing it down to real growth, excluding debt financing from last year, the figure showed a decline of 32%.

The e-commerce sector topped the list, followed by the eyewa deal, which saw seven startups raise $104 million. This moved fintech, which was dominant for four sequential months, to second place, $80 million via four transactions. SaaS providers also found good traction, receiving $21 million across seven funding rounds.

Further rounds shone in the later-stage category, with Eyewa’s Series C, Lean Technology’s Series B, and Cipher’s $13.3mn pre-IPO. Pre-seed funding accounted for $5m through 16 rounds, and Series A start-ups financed $23 through 8 rounds.

B2B formats remained popular and attracted 48% of the total funding, while B2C startups received $11.5 million, and combined-model startups made up the rest.

However, the trends were stable across the month, up to gender splits; maleletalled startups received 90% of the funds, while female startups attracted only $583k. Those started by the male or female raised $22.5million.

When the curtains are drawn in 2024, the MENA region startup ecosystem will be on the right track. The region sets standards for other areas with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt leading the charge in funding and deal volumes.

Centrical Announces 2024 Customer SELECT Award Winners