In the first quarter of 2024, the MENA region significantly ramped up its fundraising activities, announcing new funds that collectively raised a total of US $7.5 billion.
This figure marks a 2.5-fold increase compared to the average capital raised in any quarter over the previous two years, excluding the exceptional US $50.9 billion recorded in Q3 2022.
Leading these new ventures, The Future Fund Oman was launched on January 17th, 2024, securing US $5.2 billion.
This fund, managed by the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), plans to deploy this capital over five years, aiming to invest 90% of the fund will be directly invested in new or existing projects that are both commercially and economically viable.
The remaining 10% is designated for smaller ventures, with 7% earmarked for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 3% set aside for startups.
Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem
There are 749 scale-ups that have raised over US $1 million in fundraising in the Middle East and North Africa region; collectively raising over US $19.5 billion, cumulatively, as of December 2022. Over 40% of these scale-ups call Dubai home.