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Startup funding grows in the Middle East and North Africa
Experts analyzed the technology market in the Middle East and North Africa regions. According to the results, startup funding more than doubled to $864 million in the last quarter. Such data suggest that the regional economies continue to recover, despite the emerging challenges. Investors have already recovered from the pandemic and geopolitical conflicts and are now ready to actively invest in new projects.
According to research from Magnitt, the UAE is leading the venture capital segment. However, the last quarter saw excellent results from Saudi Arabia, which managed to narrow the gap with the Emirates in terms of transaction volumes.
Overall, the region’s funding was up 161% year-on-year and the number of transactions increased by 16%. Investors were most interested in projects in Turkey, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa, with the fintech sector accounting for 41%.
The venture capital market turned its attention to the MENA region in 2021, but the real surge of interest was recorded at the beginning of this period. In 2021, startups in the region received a total of $2.6 billion in funding from investors, with a total of 590 transactions. During this period, 25 new technology projects were launched. These successes speak to the positive trends in the region, a favorable business atmosphere, and the emergence of new ideas.
Last year, the UAE accounted for 26% of the total number of transactions, and the kingdom also accounted for 45% of the region’s funding. Last quarter, there was one major deal of more than $100 million. It involved the cryptocurrency exchange Rain.
Tech startups continue to drive the market. For a long time, the US and China have been the leaders here, but in recent years, India has steadily risen to the top three. Now the country has more than 26 thousand startups, among which about 100 have the status of unicorns, i.e. are valued at $1 billion or more.
In 3 years, the volume of investment in Indian technology startups has reached the $36 billion mark. Successful projects include e-commerce companies, an online pharmacy, software developers, outsourcing firms, and many others.
According to a study from the World Bank, India has risen 79 positions in just 5 years, which is a record growth. The country now has more than 4 million programmers and developers who are actively implementing their own ideas. Investors consider the Indian market to be extremely promising and are actively investing in new projects.