Startups in the UAE amount to the highest raised capital in MENA.

• The United Arab Emirates amounted to the highest capital for Start-ups within the region at $65 million and Saudi Arabia came in second with $39 million in February alone.
• 22 deals were signed by the United Arab Emirates and 7 deals by Saudi Arabia.
• when compared to the previous year, last month’s investments into start-ups fell by 88%, reflecting a global slowdown with other countries in the region being impacted harder than both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly in the UAE, have continued to dominate in terms of fundraising.

In February alone, over $65 million was raised in 22 deals, with half of the amount going to Flare Network which is a blockchain built for secure decentralized connectivity with other data sources.

A report from Wamda and Digital Digest revealed that young businesses in Saudi Arabia raised the second-highest capital, securing $39 million in three investment rounds.

Egypt came third in the list, raising $4.6 million, followed by Morocco ($1.6 million), Kuwait ($300,000), Iraq ($150,000), and Bahrain ($130,000).

In terms of the number of deals, the UAE also led the table with a total of 22 investments, followed by Saudi Arabia, which saw seven deals.

The total funds raised in the MENA region stood at $88.7 million across 37 deals, registering a modest growth of 2% compared to the previous month.

However, when compared to the previous year, last month’s investments in start-ups fell by 88%, reflecting a global slowdown.

According to Crunchbase, start-ups across the globe raised $285 billion in funding last year, which is a 38% decline from the $462 billion secured in 2022, as venture capital investors held back investments.

This aligns with both countries’ visions to diversify their economies further away from oil exports and include more sustainable futures, vision2040 and vision2030 respectively.