UAE: A Leading Financial Ecosystem for Startups in the Region
The UAE solidifies its position as a premier hub for startup financing in the MENA region
For the second consecutive month, the United Arab Emirates has emerged as the leading financial ecosystem for startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), having raised $146 million through 11 deals in November, according to the latest report from Wamda.
This strong performance is spearheaded by UAE-based companies eyewa and Lean Technologies, which secured substantial funding rounds with $100 million and $67.5 million respectively in Q4, as reported by Economee Middle East.
Saudi Arabia followed the UAE, raising the second-highest amount, with 23 startups securing $94 million in funding.
Meanwhile, Egypt secured the third spot with 8 startups successfully obtaining around $16 million, a significant increase from $1.6 million the previous month.
This growth is noteworthy, considering the ongoing geopolitical tensions on the North African country's borders, coupled with its currency depreciation.
As the final quarter of 2024 draws to a close, technology startups in the MENA region have demonstrated notable momentum, securing $258 million through 46 deals in November.
This represents a 92% monthly increase, albeit a year-over-year decline of 196% compared to the $764 million raised in the same month last year.
However, when excluding debt financing from the total investment of the previous year, the variance narrows to 32%.
Sector-wise, e-commerce took the lead in startup financing, primarily driven by eyewa's substantial deal in the UAE, as 7 startups in this domain attracted $104 million in funding.
This shift moved fintech, which had been the top choice for investors for four consecutive months, to the second place, garnering $80 million across four startups.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have emerged as the key drivers of growth in startup deal volumes within the region.
The UAE accounted for 38% of all deals in MENA, marking a 12% increase in the number of deals.
Concurrently, Saudi Arabia witnessed the second-largest growth with a 7% year-on-year increase in deals.
Within the UAE, Abu Dhabi has stood out as the fastest-growing startup ecosystem in MENA, according to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network.
The report highlighted that Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem value grew by 28% between July 2021 and December 2023, compared to the previous period.
Abu Dhabi’s ranking surged by 15 positions from the previous year, placing it in the 61-70 range, with a total early-stage funding of $284 million and total venture capital funding of $1.06 billion from 2019 to 2023.
This strong performance is spearheaded by UAE-based companies eyewa and Lean Technologies, which secured substantial funding rounds with $100 million and $67.5 million respectively in Q4, as reported by Economee Middle East.
Saudi Arabia followed the UAE, raising the second-highest amount, with 23 startups securing $94 million in funding.
Meanwhile, Egypt secured the third spot with 8 startups successfully obtaining around $16 million, a significant increase from $1.6 million the previous month.
This growth is noteworthy, considering the ongoing geopolitical tensions on the North African country's borders, coupled with its currency depreciation.
As the final quarter of 2024 draws to a close, technology startups in the MENA region have demonstrated notable momentum, securing $258 million through 46 deals in November.
This represents a 92% monthly increase, albeit a year-over-year decline of 196% compared to the $764 million raised in the same month last year.
However, when excluding debt financing from the total investment of the previous year, the variance narrows to 32%.
Sector-wise, e-commerce took the lead in startup financing, primarily driven by eyewa's substantial deal in the UAE, as 7 startups in this domain attracted $104 million in funding.
This shift moved fintech, which had been the top choice for investors for four consecutive months, to the second place, garnering $80 million across four startups.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have emerged as the key drivers of growth in startup deal volumes within the region.
The UAE accounted for 38% of all deals in MENA, marking a 12% increase in the number of deals.
Concurrently, Saudi Arabia witnessed the second-largest growth with a 7% year-on-year increase in deals.
Within the UAE, Abu Dhabi has stood out as the fastest-growing startup ecosystem in MENA, according to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network.
The report highlighted that Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem value grew by 28% between July 2021 and December 2023, compared to the previous period.
Abu Dhabi’s ranking surged by 15 positions from the previous year, placing it in the 61-70 range, with a total early-stage funding of $284 million and total venture capital funding of $1.06 billion from 2019 to 2023.
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