Egypt had the highest number of startups deals in MENA capturing 25 percent of all deals, while the UAE saw the majority of funding startups With its large market size, according to 2019 MENA Venture Investment Report by MAGNiTT.
The UAE maintained its historical dominance as the largest recipient of total funding 60 percent thanks to continued government support, corporate venture interest, and growing investor appetite for startups headquartered in the UAE.
However, the landscape continues to evolve and other ecosystems are beginning to emerge. Examples are Saudi Arabia, the fastest growing ecosystem across MENA, which now ranks third in both number of deals and total funding in the region.
2019 saw 564 investments in MENA-based startups showing continued appetite in regional startups. These investments amounted to $704M in total funding, up 13 percent compared to 2018, excluding previous mega-deals in Souq & Careem.
Investor appetite for MENA’s tech startups is growing as the ecosystem matures. average ticket size is also up by 7 percent across all deals in 2019. Moreover, 2019 saw the emergence of non-traditional tech investors such as corporates, PEs, family offices and asset managers, which saw a 39% increase from last year.
2019 also saw an increase in international investor participation. In fact, 25% of all entities that invested in MENA-based startups were based outside of the MENA region, marking a new record high.
