Egypt’s tech ecosystem has consistently witnessed the signing of over 165 deals, annually, since 2019. Average ticket-sizes were low in 2019-2020, hovering at about $600,000 per deal. In 2021, everything jumped upwards: 200 deals were inked in a single year, the average cheque size jumped to $3 million, and Egypt went from a $100M per year funding market to startups raising $607 million in a single year.
In 2022, Egypt continued to see growth - fundraising $810 million across 212 deals, with average cheque sizes growing again to $3.8 million. 2023 was the year that funding and deals fell, back down to 2019-2020 figures, if we consider removing MNT-Halan’s $400 million debt-financing round early in the year. MNTHalan’s mega-deal also ticked up the average cheque size to $7.9 million in 2023.
Investing in Egypt’s Startup Ecosystem
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises contribute over 40% to Egypt’s economy, and account for over 75% of the country’s total employment. Entrepreneurship is critical to Egypt’s future. Today, Egypt consistently ranks as a top 3 tech startup ecosystem in both the MENA and Africa regions, based on funds raised by local startups. In this special report, we speak to the most active investors in Egypt and cover some of the country’s most successful startups to give you an inside scoop on how they are navigating the current VC winter, inflationary pressures and currency devaluation woes.