Why Dubai is the Region's Top Investable Startup Ecosystems
Top Investable Startup Ecosystems in the Region
The last 3 years have seen UAE dominating the MENA funding landscape with over US$3 billion in capital raise in 2021 and 2022. What’s impressive is that Saudi Arabia and UAE are the two countries that crossed the US$1 billion mark in 2022 with approximately average funding value of US$17.1 million for UAE and US$18.8 million for Saudi Arabia.
Egypt is the next country which has consistently ranked in the top 5, exhibiting an increasing average funding value between 2020 and 2022.
Bahrain was in the top 5 during 2020 and 2021, however wasn’t in 2022. Instead, Lebanon takes the 4th position in 2022. The 5th ranked country has changed hands from Kuwait to Jordan to Algeria.
Graph: Top 5 Markets in Terms of Deal Flow, Last 3 Years
Looking at the last 5 years, the UAE has dominated the MENA funding landscape since 2018. The UAE's funding value has consistently exceeded 100% compared to other ranked countries.
Infographic: Top 5 Markets in Terms of Fundraising, Last 5 Years
Dubai’s dominant streak keeps going as it tops the list of the top 50 most funded startups in the MENA region, with 27, and the country has 30 startups on the list.
Of the remaining, 17 hail from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. There are startups from four other countries on the list, including Algeria, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Qatar.
Graph: Dominant MENA Cities based on Number of Tech Scaleups
To get the lay of the investor landscape across Dubai and MENA, and for insights provided by the investors backing the start-ups and scale-ups that are changing the face of entrepreneurship in the region, read the report by clicking here.
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