Insights, reports and interviews from the Mena region
Close to 50% of startups that responded to the survey reported that they have a cash runway of less than 6 months.
Out of the e-commerce startups, 54.2% have a runway of less than 6 months, a third of logistics startups have between 1 and 2 months of runway left.
Half of the region's startups have also witnessed an impact to their latest funding round.
Only 12% of startups have a runway of more than 12 months.
More than 35% of pre-seed startups are based in the UAE, with 26.5% based in Egypt.
E-commerce and marketplace continue to dominate the new pipeline of startups that are beginning to emerge.
Cheque sizes worth $5000 to $10,000 dominate with founders investing about 46% of total investment
Women account for just a quarter of entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa
The e-groceries market is currently worth $200 million in the GCC and Egypt, accounting for less than 1 per cent of the e-commerce space and so there is room for rapid growth.
While 58 per cent of consumers in the region still prefer to do their weekly shop instore at large supermarkets, a growing number, about 30 per cent, are taking advantage of the benefits of ordering their groceries through a mobile application or website.
The UAE is the country most comfortable with online food delivery, accounting for 4.81 per cent of the grocery market.
Consumers are spending close to $17 billion on food every year in the UAE, a substantial amount for a population that sits below 10 million. Saudi Arabia's 33 million spend $54 billion while Egypt's 98 million-strong population leads the way with $56 billion.
The cost of starting a business is 13.4 per cent of income per capita in the UAE, almost double that of Saudi Arabia
More than 80 per cent of Emirati youth are employed in the public sector
SMEs contribute 30 per cent to the UAE's gross domestic product, the same level as the oil and gas sector
There were two exits valued at over $100m in the UAE from 2012-2016
Saudi Arabia's population is one of the world's most connected, with 91 per cent using the internet and a smartphone penetration rate of 73 per cent.
Online sales to Saudi Arabia were estimated at $8.7 billion in 2017 and projected to grow to $13.9 billion by 2020. The major barrier to domestic e-commerce adoption is cash on delivery.
Unemployment among Saudi nationals is around 12.8 per cent, but youth, who comprise about half of the population of 32 million face a more difficult challenge. Unemployment for those aged 20 to 29, stands at 29 per cent.
The total funds available for SMEs – directly or indirectly to tech entrepreneurs – are valued at $3.3 billion, yet, actual investments going into Saudi tech startups are concentrated on the seed stage and deal flows are moderate.
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