Unlocking MENA's Tech Potential May Require Bridging a $20 Billion Growth Funding Gap

Over the last 5 years, a whirlwind of early-stage investments has catapulted MENA’s tech ecosystem into the global tech arena. Despite being poised for a great boom with Dubai’s ambitions to crown 30 startups as unicorns by 2033 and Saudi Arabia launching the the “Saudi Unicorn Program” under the National Technology Development Program (NTDP), a striking conundrum seemingly looms ahead to achieve this.

In their latest whitepaper, STV, the MENA region’s largest privately-held venture capital firm, has projected a US $20 billion funding gap for growth stage investments, threatening MENA’s startup ecosystem ambitions in the coming years. Her