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Key Insights From MENA's Funding Landscape
Forbes Middle East - English
|December 2024 / January 2025
MENA saw a mixed performance in the first nine months of 2024.
While total funding in the region's venture capital (VC) market fell by 13% year-on year to $1.3 billion in the first nine months of 2024, nonmega funding, those below $100 million, increased by 7%, driven by Seed and Series A deals, a report by Dubai based MAGNITT showed in October 2024.
Deal activity was also down by 6% year-on-year in the region but remained relatively resilient at 352 deals, outperforming other emerging markets like Africa's 42% slump and South East Asia's 28% decline.
Country-wise, Saudi Arabia led the region, securing 39% of MENA's total funding, driven by mega deals like SaaS e-commerce startup Salla's $130 million pre-IPO round in March 2024. The U.A.E remained the most active market, with a 12% increase in deal volumes, accounting for 38% of all deals.
Meanwhile, Egypt's VC market also witnessed strength in the first nine months of 2024, with non-mega funding increased by 36% year-onyear, driven by the activity in the fintech sector.
This story is from the December 2024 / January 2025 edition of Forbes Middle East - English.
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