MENA startups raised $282 million in September, $727 million in Q3

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A monthly report by Wamda and The Digital Digest published on October 14 revealed that startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region raised approximately $282 million in September. The amount boosted the overall amount raised by MENA startups in Q3 to about $727 million. 

The report revealed that the amount raised came from 63 startups in the MENA region, boosting the month-on-month increase to 234% and the year-on-year increase to a whopping 607%. The report also confirmed that from the amount, only 12% of the overall investment came from debt financing. 

The Saudi Arabian mobility startup SHIFT had one of the most notable investment influxes, bringing in $82.8 million of the total amount raised by startups. Another Saudi Arabian startup, Syarah, came in second, receiving about $60 million from its Series C round. The data also showed that $20 million of Syarah’s investment influx came from debt financing. 

The Wamda report confirmed that Saudi Arabian startups made a massive comeback in September after being absent from the markets for two months. In total, the country’s startups contributed to about 60% of the overall MENA investments in startups in September. The startups brought in a little over $170 million across 23 deals.

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt came in second and third, respectively. The UAE startups gained $73.7 million from 12 deals, and Egypt startups received $25 million from 13 deals. 

Fintech startups received the most investments in September

The investment in MENA startups spans different sectors, including fintech, software as a service (SaaS), e-commerce, mobility, media tech, and more. Fintech startups received the most money, about $102.5 million, which came from 14 deals. 

The second largest was mobility, aided by the SHIFT investment of about $82.8 million. E-commerce and SaaS startups received investments of $63 million and $10 million, respectively. Other sectors like edtech, cleantech, mediatech, and HRtech are also gaining speed with investments of $4.3 million, $3 million, $5.4 million, and $4.8 million, respectively.

The seed round of the MENA startups received the most attention, with 15 deals equalling $105 million, while the Series C investment round came second with 1 deal for $60 million. Other funding rounds that received significant attention were Pre-series A, Series A, Series B, and UD.

Notably, of the total funds provided to MENA startups by gender, 92.7% went to male founders, 7.6% to mixed-gender founders, and about 0.2% to female founders. 

The report discusses quarterly performance in the MENA region

The Wamda report discussed the condition of the past quarters and forecasted what to expect in Q4. According to Wamda, there has been a lot of political tension in the MENA region over the past few months, citing the Iranian air strike on Tel Aviv. However, Wamda confirmed the apparent resilience displayed by the region’s startups. 

The report also revealed the quarterly performance of different countries within the region. The UAE saw a 23% quarter-on-quarter growth in the third quarter and a 175% year-on-year increase. Egypt saw a 345% quarter-on-quarter increase and a 1076% year-on-year growth. 

Wamda believes that the trend seen in Q3 2024 will continue into the fourth quarter of the year. The research firm also highlighted that as much as foreign investors were cautious about the MENA emerging markets, local venture capital firms contributed majorly to the startups’ success.

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