Insights, reports and interviews from the Mena region
$7.5B raised by MENA startups in 2025
647 companies secured funding, up 225% YoY
Even excluding debt, investment expanded by 77% YoY
$5.7B was raised in H2 vs. $2B in H1, with Q3 particularly active
KSA led with $5B across 211 deals, ahead of the UAE and Egypt
Fintech captured $4.4B (58% of total), followed by proptech, e-commerce
B2B startups raised $2.8B, outpacing B2C
66 acquisitions were recorded in 2025, up 54% YoY
MENA startups investments, including debt, shrank to $2.3 billion in 2024, a 42% YoY decline
Without debt financing from 2023 and 2024, the disparity drops to 11%
The investment volume surged to 610 deals in 2024, a 3.5% YoY increase
The UAE was the top-funded country, scooping up 50% of total MENA investments
KSA-based investors financed 30% of total deals
Fintech captured 30% of total investment
Startup investment including debt financing grew by only 1.7%. Without debt, it dropped by 35%
Debt financing grew by 256% year on year
Investment in female founded startups dropped by 64%
Saudi Arabia-based investors were the most active, participating in 30% of all deals
Of the $2.4 billion raised from January to September 2022, just 2% was invested in women-founded startups in MENA
Closing the gender investment gap and enabling more women to participate equally as entrepreneurs could raise global gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 6 per cent.
57.8% women surveyed said that MENA-based investors are less likely to invest in women-led startups when compared to global investors.
64.2% said that women-only investment funds benefit women-led startups
No results match your search criteria.