MENA Gender Funding Gap Q1 2025: Women Received Only 4% of $1.48B Raised

Despite record-breaking startup investment in the MENA region in Q1 2025, female founders continue to be sidelined. While overall funding reached US$1.48 billion, which is more than triple the $429.2 million raised during Q1 2024, the MENA gender funding gap Q1 2025 remains alarmingly wide.

The Stark Imbalance of MENA Gender Funding Gap Q1 2025

The data from Q1 2025 shows that 149 total deals were closed. Of these, 119 (79.87%) went to male-founded startups. Just 9 (6.04%) were led solely by women. Startups co-founded by men and women accounted for 15 deals (10.07%), while the remaining six deals had no defined gender leadership.

This reflects a troubling drop in female deal share compared to Q1 2024, when women-led startups secured 2.42% of deals, and mixed teams 19.35%. While the total number of deals rose from 124 to 149, the proportional gain did not translate to improved funding access for women.

The month-by-month breakdown highlights how erratic progress has been. In January 2025, female-led startups raised US$61.6 million through 9 deals, a strong growth compared to 2024 levels. However, this initial momentum faltered quickly. By February, funding for female founders had plummeted to just US$200,000, a mere 0.04% of that month’s US$429 million total. Worse still, in March, women-led startups secured zero funding. All capital was split between male-only and mixed-gender teams, completely excluding female founders.

This pattern reflects a longer trend of structural exclusion in MENA’s startup investment ecosystem. For context, Q1 2024 already showed poor performance: female-only teams received less than 3% of deals and 0.2% of funding in some months. And while Q1 2025’s numbers may seem more promising due to January’s activity, the aggregate picture shows no meaningful improvement.

Persistent Disparities

The disparity becomes even more glaring when comparing funding volume. In Q1 2025, male-founded startups raised nearly US$1.3 billion, while mixed-gender teams brought in about US$148 million. In contrast, female-led startups raised just US$61.6 million (4.1% of the total quarterly funding).

This gap shows the continued issue of fairness and a missed opportunity. Global studies show that diverse founding teams often outperform homogenous ones in both innovation and returns. In a region like MENA, where startup ecosystems are maturing and governments are investing heavily in entrepreneurship, ignoring female founders undercuts long-term growth potential.

From Awareness to Action

As the region celebrates overall funding growth, stakeholders must look beyond headline numbers and assess who’s actually benefiting. The MENA gender funding gap Q1 2025 implies that more money in the system doesn’t automatically mean more equity. Without active interventions, like targeted funds, dedicated accelerators, or diversity mandates, female founders risk being left out of the region’s innovation economy altogether.

The conversation about gender equity in MENA entrepreneurship must move from observation to action. The data is clear. Then the question now is: who’s ready to change it?