MENA startup ecosystem raises $704 million in 2019
Monday, 01 13 2020, Category: Economy, Country: Middle East
The year 2019 saw a record 564 startup investments across Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, amounting to $704M in total funding, excluding mega deals of Careem and Souq. FinTech retained the top spot as the most active industry, securing 13 per cent of the deals, while delivery and transport sector received the highest amount of funding of 19 per cent.
The details were published in the latest report by Magnitt, a data platform for start-ups and investors.
‘All of these records point towards a maturing ecosystem,’ says Philip Bahoshy, MAGNiTT’s founder and CEO. ‘With exits at an all-time-high, including MENA’s first unicorn exit, the region’s founders, investors, and governments are seeing the returns on their efforts in the tech venture space.’
The number of investments in MENA-based startups is up 31 per cent from 2018, reflecting a continued appetite in regional startups.
For the first time ever, Egypt accounted for the largest number of deals in MENA at 25 per cent, while the United Arab Emirates got the lion’s share of total funding of 60 per cent.
However, the landscape continues to evolve and other ecosystems are beginning to emerge, adds the report. Saudi Arabia is now the fastest growing ecosystem across MENA and ranks third in both number of deals and total funding in the region.
Source:
Business Live ME