MENA Startups Raise $2.3 Billion in 2024 as Investment Volume Grows
Despite a 42% year-on-year drop in funding value, the region sees a 3.5% increase in the number of deals, with fintech and SaaS leading sectors.
Startup funding deals across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region reached a total of $2.3 billion in 2024, marking a 3.5% increase in the number of agreements compared to the previous year.
Despite this rise in deal volume, the funding value represented a 42% year-on-year decline, though the decline narrowed to 11% when excluding debt financing.
The UAE led the funding race, securing $1.1 billion across 207 deals, followed by Saudi Arabia at $700 million from 186 deals, and Egypt with $334 million across 84 deals.
Oman, Morocco, and Tunisia also saw more modest gains, while emerging ecosystems in Jordan, Qatar, and Lebanon experienced steady growth.
Fintech emerged as the dominant sector, accounting for 30% of the total funding, or $700 million.
Other high-performing sectors included Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Web 3.0, and e-commerce, with funding amounts of $256.8 million, $253 million, and substantial traction, respectively.
The report also highlighted early-stage startups as the primary beneficiaries of the funding, with over $1.2 billion raised.
However, later-stage investments, including pre-IPO rounds, showed limited activity.
Female-founded startups secured only 1.2% of total funding, amounting to $27.6 million.
In addition to the regional funding trends, several MENA startups secured notable investments in the final quarter of 2024. Saudi fintech startup Ebana raised $2.66 million in a pre-Series A round, while the Saudi e-services platform Nabeeh secured an undisclosed investment from Ibtikar Fund.
UAE-based proptech startup Silkhaus raised a seven-figure growth funding round to expand into Saudi Arabia, and health-tech company BioSapien extended its pre-Series A round to $7 million.
Other key developments included Maalexi, a UAE-based agriculture fintech, securing $3 million in debt financing from Citi, and Egyptian logistics startup Fincart.io raising an undisclosed pre-seed round.
In addition, Egypt-based loyalty solutions provider Dsquares acquired a majority stake in Prepit, a B2B SaaS loyalty platform.
The region’s startup ecosystem continues to experience robust activity despite fluctuations in total funding value, with key sectors such as fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce remaining at the forefront of investor interest.
Despite this rise in deal volume, the funding value represented a 42% year-on-year decline, though the decline narrowed to 11% when excluding debt financing.
The UAE led the funding race, securing $1.1 billion across 207 deals, followed by Saudi Arabia at $700 million from 186 deals, and Egypt with $334 million across 84 deals.
Oman, Morocco, and Tunisia also saw more modest gains, while emerging ecosystems in Jordan, Qatar, and Lebanon experienced steady growth.
Fintech emerged as the dominant sector, accounting for 30% of the total funding, or $700 million.
Other high-performing sectors included Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Web 3.0, and e-commerce, with funding amounts of $256.8 million, $253 million, and substantial traction, respectively.
The report also highlighted early-stage startups as the primary beneficiaries of the funding, with over $1.2 billion raised.
However, later-stage investments, including pre-IPO rounds, showed limited activity.
Female-founded startups secured only 1.2% of total funding, amounting to $27.6 million.
In addition to the regional funding trends, several MENA startups secured notable investments in the final quarter of 2024. Saudi fintech startup Ebana raised $2.66 million in a pre-Series A round, while the Saudi e-services platform Nabeeh secured an undisclosed investment from Ibtikar Fund.
UAE-based proptech startup Silkhaus raised a seven-figure growth funding round to expand into Saudi Arabia, and health-tech company BioSapien extended its pre-Series A round to $7 million.
Other key developments included Maalexi, a UAE-based agriculture fintech, securing $3 million in debt financing from Citi, and Egyptian logistics startup Fincart.io raising an undisclosed pre-seed round.
In addition, Egypt-based loyalty solutions provider Dsquares acquired a majority stake in Prepit, a B2B SaaS loyalty platform.
The region’s startup ecosystem continues to experience robust activity despite fluctuations in total funding value, with key sectors such as fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce remaining at the forefront of investor interest.
