MENA startups see 13% rise in funding in 2022
The total amount raised by startups in the MENA region last year stood at $3.6 billion, spread across 628 deals.
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) startups raised $125 million across 38 deals in December 2022, taking the total amount raised last year to around $3.6 billion, a 13% rise in funding, spread across 628 deals, according to a joint report by Wamda and Digital Digest.
However, the funding in December 2022 was down 40% compared to December 2021, which was a 72% decline on a month-on-month basis.
In December, Egypt was the leading country in terms of funding raised, with $45.7 million raised across 11 deals. The UAE and Saudi Arabia secured $31.8 million and $31.7 million, respectively, becoming the second and third countries with the highest funds raised.
William Bao Bean, of SOSV and Orbit Startups, on running a business in the GCC region
Seed and pre-seed startups attracted the maximum number of deals. However, there has been a drop in the fundraising prospects of late-stage startups. This has been attributed to the fears of a global recession.
Sector-wise, while agritech saw the highest amount of funding, receiving around 31% of the total funds, fintech, HRtech, and foodtech bagged $79.5 million in total, which was around 64% of the total amount.
B2C startups collectively raised $19 million, while B2B startups secured $102 million.
Around 22 deals attracted foreign direct investment (FDI), mostly coming from the US-based investors. Regionally, investors from Saudi Arabia were most active with 31 deals.
However, the gender gap in funding continues to persist in the region. Only 0.9% of the funds went to female-led startups, while male-led startups accounted for 98% of the deal value and teams with a mix of male and female founders attracted the remaining 1% funding.
Edited by Megha Reddy
