Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem

Saudi Arabia

Dubai-based startups have achieved unicorn status through various funding rounds from&nbsp;2021 to 2022, including notable instances such as Careem, Noon, Vista Global Holdings, Telegram, EMPG (Dubizzle Group), Yalla, stc pay, Fawry, Jahez, Zeta, Kitopi, Aleph Holding, and MNT-Halan.

It is not just VC money that Dubai-based startups are attracting, Dubai-based scale-ups also enjoy a lion&rsquo;s share of Private Equity rounds, corporate rounds and &ldquo;others,&rdquo; which is categorised by fundraising vehicles such as debt financing, equity crowdfunding, grants and convertible notes.

Total Funding for the Middle East and North Africa from 2012 to 2022 in US Dollars

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Among Dubai-based companies, the values of various funding types have seen an increase over the years, including venture funding rounds, private equity rounds, and corporate rounds.

Venture funding rounds have been the most common type for the past 6 years. However, we can observe a significant rise in the last couple of years. Venture funding rounds alone surpassed the US$1 billion mark in both 2021 ($1.71 billion) and 2022 ($1.74 billion).

The Funding Types of Fundraising for Dubai-Based Startups in Millions of USD

Dubai-Based Startups Fundraising by Funding Type (Millions USD)

More than 30% of the funding rounds are attributed to startups headquartered in Dubai, implying 87% of all funding rounds for&nbsp;UAE-based companies are for firms headquartered in the Emirate. What is more amazing though is that Dubai-based companies&nbsp;have raised nearly 60% of all MENA funding since 2012. Dubai is also home to the most unicorns in the region and aims to be&nbsp;home to 20 unicorns by 2031.

MENA Total Funding 2012-2022, US$ Million

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