Egypt Leads in Startup Funding in MENA Region in July 2024
In July 2024, Egypt emerged as the leader in startup funding across the MENA region, securing the highest investment inflows. The country’s thriving startup ecosystem attracted significant attention from investors, outpacing other nations in the region.
This achievement highlights Egypt’s growing prominence as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa, reinforcing its position as a key player in the region’s economic landscape.
Egyptian entrepreneurs led the way, securing $185 million across seven deals, with $157.5 million of that amount coming from a single transaction by MNT-Halan. This represents a significant leap from Egypt’s previous month’s $15 million raised through four deals. The UAE came in second with $96 million invested in 12 startups.
Saudi Arabia experienced a sharp decline in investment, attracting just $31 million across seven deals, placing it fourth behind Oman. The fintech sector was the most lucrative, drawing $181 million across 16 startups. The Web3 sector followed with $85 million invested in two startups, while deeptech and cleantech took third and fourth positions, respectively. E-commerce remained strong in deal volume, with six startups raising $15.7 million.
Seed-stage startups attracted the most capital, raising $96 million across eight deals, followed closely by Series A funding, which garnered $91.7 million across eight deals. Pre-seed startups, however, managed to raise only $1.8 million across five deals.
The business-to-business (B2B) model continued to dominate, attracting $345 million across 27 startups for the second consecutive month. In contrast, just nine business-to-consumer (B2C) startups raised nearly $8 million, while the remaining funds were split between two B2B2C startups.
In terms of gender dynamics, only two female-led startups secured $270,000 in July 2024. Meanwhile, four co-founded startups (male and female) raised $20.5 million, with the remainder of the funds going to male-led startups.
