The 15-Year Rise of MEAPT Early-Stage Startup Funding (And Why Some Markets Still Lag)

Over the past 15 years, MEAPT early-stage startup funding has undergone a profound transformation, marked by rising cheque sizes in major ecosystems and fluctuating patterns in emerging markets. Pre-seed and seed rounds that were once modest injections intended to test early concepts, have expanded into critical financing stages that now shape scalability, competitiveness, and survival rates across the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader MEAPT region. While the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have steadily grown their average early-stage round sizes, the rest of the GCC and the Levant have experienced more uneven trajectories, reflecting fragmented investor maturity, ecosystem depth, and sector concentration.

UAE Leads Consistent Growth in MEAPT Early-Stage Startup Funding

The UAE has showcased some of the most consistent growth across MEAPT early-stage startup funding, driven by an ecosystem that has matured into the region’s most active and well-capitalized hub. Average pre-seed and seed rounds have expanded significantly from 2015 to 2025, reflecting the country’s ability to attract global venture capital, corporate backing, and government-fueled innovation incentives. With the rise of Abu Dhabi’s ADIO initiatives, Dubai’s venture-building programs, and a pipeline of new funds targeting early-stage founders, investors have steadily increased their cheque sizes as confidence in the startup environment strengthens.

Saudi Arabia’s Rapid Ascent Reshapes MEAPT Early-Stage Startup Funding

Saudi Arabia has seen one of the sharpest increases in early-stage cheque sizes, rising consistently across the past 15 years. This acceleration mirrors the Kingdom’s robust VC growth under Vision 2030, which has prioritized entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and sector diversification. This surge from Saudi-based investors reflects deepening institutional participation, including PIF-backed funds, corporate VCs, university-linked accelerators, and private equity spillover. The result is a founder landscape where early-stage rounds are larger, faster to close, and more competitive, setting KSA on track to become one of the region’s top three VC markets.

Egypt Strengthens Its Position Despite Economic Volatility

Egypt has also seen a steady rise in average pre-seed and seed stage cheque sizes. Despite currency pressures and macroeconomic fluctuations, Egypt remains one of the MEAPT region’s most prolific startup markets, supported by strong founder pipelines and investor familiarity with digital consumption trends.

Increased participation from regional VCs and repeat founders has helped elevate funding confidence, allowing early-stage rounds to grow gradually over time. Egypt’s evolving position highlights the importance of market size and local talent density in sustaining long-term growth in early-stage capital deployment.

Fluctuations in the Rest of GCC and the Levant Reflect Uneven Ecosystem Maturity

While the UAE, KSA, and Egypt demonstrate steady expansion, early-stage funding in the rest of the GCC and Levant has fluctuated across the same 15-year period. Markets such as Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine have shown sporadic spikes tied to government programs, accelerator waves, or isolated large rounds. However, they lack the sustained investor momentum seen in larger ecosystems.

These inconsistencies highlight structural gaps in MEAPT early-stage startup funding: smaller market sizes, fewer institutional investors, reduced liquidity pathways, and earlier-stage ecosystem maturity. Nonetheless, the periodic spikes indicate rising interest and latent potential, signaling that these markets could gain stability as regional capital becomes more distributed.