Banking & Finance

Mena startup funding trebles with fintech leading the way

August 13, 2024, 12:02 PM

Companies led by men dominated Mena startup funding – businesses with women among their founding partners secured less than $21 million in investment

Mena startup funding up 206%
Egypt most-funded country
Fintech most popular sector

Technology entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North Africa led a recovery in startup investments in July despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

The value of investments in the Mena region hit $355 million last month across 38 startups, an increase of 206 percent on the previous month and 260 percent year on year.

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Fintech remained the most popular choice among investors, accounting for more than half of the total value ($181 million) invested across 16 startups. That’s according to the latest performance report from Mena entrepreneurship platform Wamda.

Web 3 providers came next with $85 million, followed by so-called “cleantech” (companies that work to reduce negative environmental impacts). “Deeptech” businesses (focused on high-tech innovation in engineering or significant scientific advances) were the next most popular.

“The fact that debt financing made up less than 1 percent of total investments last month sends an optimistic message that the investment slump the Mena tech ecosystem saw at the beginning of the year is abating,” a statement from Wamda said.

Egyptian entrepreneurs took top spot in the region, raising $185 million over seven deals, significantly up from the four deals funded in June that raised $15 million.

As a result, the UAE fell to second place, with $96 million invested in 12 startups.

Saudi Arabia experienced the greatest decline, with just $31 million invested over seven deals.

Investment in the startup scene across the Mena region continues to be dominated by companies with male founders.

Only two female-led startups raised $270,000 between them in July. Four male and female co-founded startups managed to secure $20.5 million. The remainder of the funding went to male-led startups.