Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem

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MENA’s New Funds: US $7.5 Billion Raised in Q1 2024

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Top 5 Funded Middle Eastern Startups in March 2024

March 2024 - Top 5 Funded Startups in MENAPT

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Top 10 Universities Fostering Entrepreneurship Worldwide

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Overview of MENA Tech Venture Funding and the Evolution of Venture Funding in Dubai

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Driving Startup Success: Dubai's Attraction for Scaleups Growth

Driving Scaleup Success: Dubai's Attractiveness for Startup Growth

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Celebrating Middle Eastern Roots: 10 Influential Founders from Silicon Valley

10 Notable Middle Eastern Executive and Founders who have made their Mark in Silicon Valley

From Startups to Unicorns: Explore Dubai's Growing Venture Funding Landscape

The Evolution of Dubai Venture Funding: Dubai's Maturing Scaleups and Unicorns

See How Dubai is the Region's Top Investable Startup Ecosystems for the Past Three Years

Why Dubai is the Region's Top Investable Startup Ecosystems

MENA Region's Growth in Mega-Rounds

The Surge of Mega-Round Investments in MENA

Dominance of UAE's Tech Scaleups in the MENA Region

UAE's Tech Scaleups Prominence Among MENA

Building Resilience: Consolidation and the Future of Dubai and the MENA Startup Ecosystem

Building Resilience: Consolidation and the Future of the MENA Startup Ecosystem

Exploring the Hottest Tech Sectors Expected to Thrive in 2023

Exciting Investment Prospects: Tech Sectors Set to Shine in 2023

Navigating Path to Dubai's Digital Economy Ambition: Expected Headwinds in Dubai’s Funding Landscape

Expected Headwinds in Dubai’s Funding Landscape

Global Venture Capitalists Speak Up: The Global Reach of Dubai's Thriving Startup Ecosystem

Dubai's Global Attractiveness: Perspectives from Venture Capitalists

From Internet City to the D33 Economy Agenda: A Look into Dubai's Digital Economy Strategy

Driving Digital Economy: Dubai's Initiatives in Building a Resilient Tech Startup Landscape

MENA's startup growth continues to be led by Dubai: over $11.7 billion lifetime raised across 306 scale-ups

MENA's startup growth continues to be led by Dubai: over $11.7B lifetime raised across 306 scaleups

DCDE Publishes 2023 Venture Report; Dubai adds 64 more scale-ups in 2022

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy Publishes 2023 Venture Report; Dubai adds 64 more scale-ups in 2022

Infobytes

Total New Funds per Quarter in US$ Billion from Q1 2022 to Q4 2024

Q1 2022 - Q4 2024: New Funds per Quarter in US$ Billion

MENAPT Funding Rounds Total Deal Value & Deal Count - March 2024 vs. 2023

MENAPT Funding Rounds Total Deal Value ($USm) & Deal Count - Mar 24 vs. Mar 23

VC Winter Persists: MENAPT's January 2024 Start-up Funding Plummets Over 50% Compared to Last Year, Israel and UAE Lead Funding Rounds

VC Winter Persists: MENAPT's January 2024 Start-up Funding Plummets Over 50% Compared to Last Year

2023's Venture Capital Funding Trends by Growth Stage and Country in the MENA Region

2023 MENA Region: Venture Capital Funding Trends by Growth Stage and Country

In 2023, Startup Funding Value is Split by Equity or Debt Funding

2023 Funding Value Split by Equity/Debt Funding

Top 10 Locations Ranked by Overall Score in the World

Top 10 Locations Ranked by Overall Score

Top 20 Fastest Growing VC Ecosystems Globally from Q2 2017 - Q3 2023 by Pitchbook

Top 20 Fastest Growing VC Ecosystems Globally (Q2 2017 - Q3 2023)

Pitchbook's Top 20 VC Ecosystems in the World for 2023 will Explore the Elite Cities Dominating the Rankings

Pitchbook's Top 20 VC Ecosystems in the World 2023

MENA (ex. Israel) VC Investments projected to reach 9.7 Billion by 2028 with 75% Allocated to Mature Growth-Stage Startup

MENA (ex. Israel) VC Investments projected to reach 9.7 Billion by 2028

MENA (Excluding Israel) VC Funding Still Skewed Toward Early-Stage Startups Compared to Global Averages: 59% vs 74%

MENA (ex. Israel) VC Funding still Skewed Towards Early Stage Startups vs Global Averages

Startup Ecosystems in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt Get More Invested than Germany and Brazil

UAE Startup Ecosystem Gets More Invested than Germany and Brazil

Decline Continues in Q2 2023 for Equity Funding & Deals in MENA, with Data Indicating the Weakest VC Investment Quarter in Two Years

Disclosed Equity Funding & Deals in MENA: Decline Continues in Q2 2023

After Central Banks Worldwide Aggressively Raised Interest Rates Starting in January 2022, It is Expected to Begin Tapering Off

Interest Rates Expected to Start Tapering Off

After a Bleak Q2, Global Venture Funding Shows the First Signs of Recovery in Q3 2023, with a Rebound of 11% QoQ

Global Venture Funding Shows First Signs of Recovery in Q3 2023, up 11% QoQ

Average Valuation Fluctuations for Series A & Seed Rounds in the UAE

MENA (ex. Israel) deal flow and funding slump showing first signs of bottoming out

MENA (ex. Israel) Deal Flow and Funding Slump Showing First Signs of Bottoming Out

World's Largest Technology Events 2024

The Largest Tech Conference in the World

The Evolution of GITEX Global: GITEX's 43 Year Journey from Startup to Top 3

The Evolution of GITEX Global

If the Data Could Speak… – Average Funds Raised by Founder Based on Alma Mater ($USD Millions)

Average Funds Raised by Founder Based on Alma Mater ($USD Millions)

Top Ten Global Universities for Entrepreneurship 2023 (based on graduate founders and funds raised)

Top 10 Universities for Entrepreneurship 2023 (based on graduate founders and funds raised)

Total Capital Raised in Middle East and North Africa Region by Country: 2012-2022

MENA Total Capital Raised, by Country, 2012-2022

Funding Rounds in MENA by Country: 2012-2022

MENA Number of Funding Rounds, by Country, 2012-2022

The UAE-Based Main Active Investors

UAE Main Active Investors

Average Funding Value in Dubai by Stage in USD Millions

Average Funding Value in Dubai by Stage (In USD Millions)

Dubai's Fast-Growing Startups Are Receiving More Funding Rounds in the Past Two Years

Round of Funding Evolution in Dubai

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

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

No. of MENA Funding Rounds Based on Funding Amounts Between 2021 and 2022

Number of MENA Funding Rounds Based on Funding Bracket Between 2021 and 2022

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

MENA Total Funding 2012-2022, US$ Million

MENA Scaleup Funding Rounds from 2010 Till 2022

The Size of MENA Scaleup Funding Rounds from 2010 Till 2022

Cities in Middle East and North Africa that are Home to the Most Unicorns, Based on Verifiable Public Disclosures

Cities Home to the Most Unicorns in MENA (Based on Verifiable Public Disclosures)

The Top 5 Markets in Terms of Fundraising in the Last 5 Years from 2018-2022

Top 5 Markets in Terms of Fundraising, Last 5 Years (2018-2022)

The Top 5 Markets in Terms of Deal Flow in the Last 3 Years from 2020-2022

Top 5 Markets in Terms of Deal Flow, Last 3 Years (2020-2022)

Tech Venture Funding in the Middle East and North Africa Region (2012-2022)

Tech Funding in MENA from 2012 to 2022

Ranking the UAE's Top Ten Startup Fundraising Rounds to Date (as of 2022)

UAE's Top 10 Startup Fundraising Rounds to Date (2022)

Ranking the UAE's Top Five Disclosed Startup Funding Rounds in 2022

UAE's Top 5 Disclosed Funding Rounds in 2022

MENA in Numbers: Tech Scaleups and the Cumulative Capital Raised in the Middle East and North Africa Region (Excluding Israel)

Tech Scaleups & Cumulative Capital Raised by Scaleups in MENA

Tech Scaleup MENA Matrix - Considers all funding between 2010 to 2022

Tech Scaleup MENA Matrix (2010 to 2022)

Dominant Cities in MENA Based on the Number of Scaleups in the Top 50 (As of December 2022)

Dominant MENA Cities based on Number of Tech Scaleups

Charting Dubai's Tech Success: Top 15 Industries with Scaleup Dominance

Top 15 Tech Industries in Dubai by Number of Scaleups

How Many Unicorns are there in the Middle East and North Africa?

Cities Home to the Most Unicorns in MENA

These Are the Top 15 Exits in the Middle East and North Africa Market

Top 15 Exits in MENA

Top 10 MENA Countries for Tech Scale-ups 2023

Top 10 MENA Countries for Tech Scaleups 2023

Increasing Number of Dubai-based Scale-ups: From 2021 to 2022

Increasing Number of Dubai Scaleups: 2021 to 2022

Ranking Top Investors in Dubai-based Tech Startups Between 2018 to 2022

Top Investors in Dubai-based Tech Startups (2018-2022)

Top 10 Tech Scale-up Cities in MENA (By Number of Scale-ups in 2022)

Top 10 Tech Scaleup Cities in MENA (By Number of Scaleups in 2022)

MENA Tech Scaleup Yearly Funding Activity from 2016 to 2022 (US$ Billion)

MENA Tech Scaleup Yearly Funding Activity (2016 to 2022)

This is how MENA Scaleups are getting funded

MENA Scaleups' Capital Raised Distribution (2010-2022)

Special Reports

To Your Doorstep: The Future of Food Delivery in Saudi Arabia

The Future of Food Delivery in Saudi Arabia

FoodTech

Egypt

Special Report: Investing in Egypt’s Startup Ecosystem in 2024

Investing in Egypt’s Startup Ecosystem

Special Report "The Business of Impact Investing in 2023"

The Business of Impact Investing in 2023

Sustainability & ClimateTech

Special Report: "The Business of Healthtech in MENA"

The Business of Healthtech in MENA

HealthTech

Special Report: "Sustainable International Trade for a Resilient Future"

Sustainable International Trade for a Resilient Future

Special Report: The State of the Electric Vehicle Revolution 2023

The State of the Electric Vehicle Revolution 2023

Mobility

Special Report: The Growing Business of Foodtech in the GCC

The Growing Business of Foodtech

Special Report: "Opportunities in Web3"

Opportunities in Web3

Crypto, Blockchain & Web3

Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem | Special Report

The Future of Fintech in Africa

Fintech

Diriyah and Saudi's the Giga Projects | Special Report

Diriyah and the Giga Projects: Defining the New Saudi Arabia

Tourism

Saudi Arabia's Startup Ecosystem Evolution 2010-2022

The Evolution of Saudi Arabia Startup Ecosystem 2010-2022

Dubai's Digital Economy and Startup Ecosystem | Special Report

Dubai’s Digital Economy and Its Expanding Startup Ecosystem

MENA's M&A Landscape 2017-2022: A Comprehensive Review

The Middle East & North Africa’s M&A Landscape 2017-2022

Sustainable Innovations and Startups in the MENA Region

Innovations In International Trade

Egypt Start-Up Ecosystem | Special Report

Egypt's Burgeoning Start-Up Ecosystem

Dubai’s Digital Economy Capital Roadmap | Special Report

Dubai’s Roadmap to Becoming the Digital Economy Capital of the World

The Electric Vehicle Revolution: Growth & Challenges Ahead

The Electric Vehicle Revolution Has Arrived

Bringing The World to Saudi

<a href="http://Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy in partnership with Entrepreneur Middle East and Lucidity Insights recently published a Special Report titled “Dubai’s Venture Capital Ecosystem.” The special report details startup funding data from across the MENA region, focused primarily on scale-ups, which are defined as startups that have raised US $1 million in funding or more.">Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy</a> in partnership with <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/en-ae">Entrepreneur Middle East </a>and <a href="http://lucidityinsights.com/">Lucidity Insights</a> recently published a Special Report titled &ldquo;<a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/reports/dubais-venture-capital-ecosystem/read">Dubai&rsquo;s Venture Capital Ecosystem.</a>&rdquo; The special report details startup funding data from across the MENA region, focused primarily on scale-ups, which are defined as startups that have raised US $1 million in funding or more.&nbsp;

As of the end of 2022, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, excluding Israel, was home to 749 scale-ups, collectively raising US $19.5 billion since 2010. In 2022, scale-ups across MENA raised over US $6.7 billion; that&rsquo;s one-third of the region&rsquo;s lifetime total. Last year, 158 new scale-ups were added across 19 countries in MENA. The report also found that 40% of these scale-ups call Dubai home, keeping the start-up capital crown firmly placed on the city&rsquo;s head.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Of these 306 scale-ups that are headquartered in Dubai, 64 were added in 2022, indicating an acceleration of scale-up activity in the city. Cairo maintained its 2nd place ranking, with 135 scale-ups, nearly doubling the number of scale-ups in the Egyptian capital from the year prior. Riyadh solidified its third-place position with 93 scale-ups calling the Saudi capital home, adding 21 scale-ups in 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

<img src="https://cdn.lucidityinsights.com/uploads/dubai-vc-ecosystem/articles/launch/01.jpg" />&nbsp;His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work said of the report, &ldquo;this report is not only evidence of the conducive environment Dubai has built for start-ups and scale-ups, it is also a testament to the emirate&rsquo;s prominence as a digital business hub in the MENA region.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Dubai has acted as a safe harbor for many regional start-up founders to relocate to, to get better access to talent, capital and mentorship. Every year, more and more investors have also been flocking to the city on the Arabian Sea, setting up funds and looking at opportunities to invest in across the region. For many cities across MENA, Dubai is a shining example of what it takes to become a global hub for entrepreneurship.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tammer Qaddumi, Co-founder and General Partner of Dubai-based VentureSouq says this is all because &ldquo;Dubai has done a great job of removing frictions&hellip; That&rsquo;s a brilliant way to grow your business, or in Dubai&rsquo;s case, your city; and as a result, it is attracting talent from all over the world.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Dubai&rsquo;s 306 scale-ups have collectively raised US $11.7 billion in funding over the course of the past twelve years from 2010 through to 2022. This sum represents 60% of total cumulative fundraising across all of MENA (excluding Israel). 2022 was also the second year in a row where Dubai-based startups raised over the US $1 billion mark. The increase of mega-rounds (rounds raising $300 million or more) in 2022 helped, with four of the six mega-rounds, including AstraTech, Swvl, Kitopi, and Advanta, all being Dubai-based. The report also covers Dubai&rsquo;s progress on becoming the preferred home-base for unicorns in the Arab world.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<img src="https://cdn.lucidityinsights.com/uploads/dubai-vc-ecosystem/articles/launch/02.jpg" />&nbsp;2022 also saw the most number of international investors investing in Dubai-based startups, increasing exponentially from prior years. Noor Sweid, Managing Partner at Global Ventures, commented saying, &ldquo;we are seeing more and more international investors in the region, as they accounted for 48% of the total investors who have funded UAE-based startups in 2022.&rdquo;&nbsp;

<a href="http://lucidityinsights.com/reports/dubais-venture-capital-ecosystem/read">The Special Report </a>gathered insights from some of Dubai&rsquo;s and the Region&rsquo;s most prominent Venture Capitalists and Digital Economy stewards including, but not limited to H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications and the Chairman of <a href="https://www.dubaichamberdigital.com/">Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy</a>; H.E. Ahmad Abdullah Juma bin Byat, Vice Chairman of <a href="https://www.dubaichamberdigital.com/">Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy</a>; Dany Farha, Managing Partner of <a href="https://becocapital.com/">BECO Capital</a>; Walid Hanna, Chairman &amp; Co-CEO of <a href="https://www.mevp.com/">Middle East Venture Partners</a>; Tammer Qaddumi, Co-Founder and Managing Partner At <a href="http://venturesouq.com">VentureSouq</a>; and Noor Sweid, Managing Partner at <a href="https://www.global.vc/">Global Ventures</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

On Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s strong startup ecosystem performance, most investors echoed BECO Capital&rsquo;s Dany Farha when he said, &ldquo;a thriving Saudi start-up ecosystem is a thriving regional start-up ecosystem. We should celebrate Saudi&rsquo;s emergence &ndash; it&rsquo;s great for attracting foreign investors to the region.&rdquo;&nbsp;

The <a href="http://lucidityinsights.com/reports/dubais-venture-capital-ecosystem/read">Special Report</a> also highlights the Top 50 most funded startups in MENA. 30 out of the Top 50 most funded startups in MENA call the United Arab Emirates home. <a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/search/results?keyword=telegram">Telegram Messenger</a> took the top spot after US $2.7 billion from ICO proceeds and debt-financing. Noon came in second after it reportedly raised US $1 billion in funding, followed by <a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/search/results?keyword=kitopi">Kitopi&rsquo;s</a> US $804 million raise. <a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/search/results?keyword=careem">Careem</a> and <a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/search/results?keyword=swvl">Swvl</a> round out the Top 5. The Top 5 most funded startups in MENA list is also indicative of Dubai&rsquo;s position as the region&rsquo;s leading startup hub. Three of the top 5 were born and raised out of Dubai; Noon arguably was also born out of Dubai though it moved its headquarters to Saudi Arabia to secure funding and base itself closest to its largest customer base in the region. Swvl was a startup born out of Egypt, but it relocated its headquarters to Dubai when it was raising pre-IPO rounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/reports/dubais-venture-capital-ecosystem/read"><img src="https://cdn.lucidityinsights.com/uploads/dubai-vc-ecosystem/articles/launch/Web Banners_lcdt_top 50.jpg" /></a>&nbsp;

<a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/reports/dubais-venture-capital-ecosystem/read">The report</a> points out that it is not just venture capital funding that Dubai-based startups are attracting. Dubai-based scale-ups also enjoy the lion&rsquo;s share of all other types of funding, which include Private Equity (PE) rounds, Corporate rounds, and &ldquo;others&rdquo;, which includes debt-financing, equity crowdfunding, grants and convertible notes.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<img src="https://cdn.lucidityinsights.com/uploads/dubai-vc-ecosystem/articles/launch/03.jpg" />&nbsp;

His Excellency Ahmad Abdullah Juma bin Byat commented on the issue around the viability of IPO exits for local startups. Only 12% of total capital raise since 2010 has been from successful IPOs in the region, and none have listed on the Dubai Stock Exchange. &ldquo;Our local and regional stock markets need to reinvent themselves and focus immediately on this growing digital segment through separate platforms built with digital companies&rsquo; needs in mind, before it&rsquo;s too late,&rdquo; heeded H.E. bin Byat.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Farha agreed stating, &ldquo;A viable path to IPO is an important attribute of a mature startup ecosystem for which attracting foreign investment is also imperative to bring true and deep liquidity into our stock exchanges.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Another sentiment that all investors seemed to agree on was that there are expected headwinds in 2023. Walid Hanna from MEVP stated, &ldquo;We have witnessed a decrease in the valuation hype, the market has corrected, and there might be a slight &lsquo;funding winter&rsquo; as the ecosystem matures and becomes more competitive.&rdquo; He continued, &ldquo;to mitigate these risks, it will be important for the government to continue to support and invest in the startup ecosystem, and for the VC community to remain nimble and responsive to the needs of the market.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Despite Dubai&rsquo;s strength as a startup ecosystem thus far, there was also a clear indication that Dubai and the entire region had much more room to grow. H.E. bin Byat put it best when he said, &ldquo;Globally VC funding totalled to something around US $470 billion in 2022, which is just 12%% of the global Private Equity and M&amp;A deal activity &ndash; there is huge room for growth here.&rdquo;&nbsp;

<h3>To read more about Dubai and the MENA region&rsquo;s startup ecosystem, the Top 50 most funded startups in the region, and investor insights, read the report by <a href="http://lucidityinsights.com/reports/dubais-venture-capital-ecosystem/read">clicking here.&nbsp;</a></h3>

<a href="https://lucidityinsights.com/reports/dubais-venture-capital-ecosystem/read"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.lucidityinsights.com/uploads/dubai-vc-ecosystem/articles/launch/Web Banners_lcdt_970 x 250.jpg" /></a>&nbsp;

Spotlights

Across the Table with Nader Albastaki of Dubai Future District Fund : A Journey from Banking to Venture Capital, Exploring Dubai's Startup Ecosystem

Across the Table with Nader Albastaki: A Journey from Banking to Venture Capital, Exploring Dubai's Startup Ecosystem

In Conversation with Dany Farha, Managing Partner of BECO Capital, and Board Member at Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy

In Conversation with Dany Farha, Managing Partner of BECO Capital

“Only possible in Dubai”: Fuel On-Demand CAFU, Disrupting a Centuries-Old Fueling Business

CAFU – Disrupting a Centuries-Old Fueling Business, “Only possible in Dubai”

In Conversation with H.E. Ahmad Abdullah Juma Bin Byat, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy (DCDE)

In Conversation with H.E. Ahmad Abdullah Juma Bin Byat, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy

Videos

Dubai's Dominance in MENA's Thriving Venture Capital Scene

What are the Top Performing Tech Sectors in Dubai?

How Mega Rounds and Diversified Capital are Fueling Dubai's Startup Ecosystem

The MENA Startup Exit Routes

Mapping MENA Funding Trends (2012-2022): Unveiling Investments in Venture Capital, Corporate Rounds, and Private Equity

Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem

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