As Q4 2024 almost comes to an end, tech startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) demonstrated significant momentum, securing an impressive $258 million through 46 deals in November, a 92% increase month-on-month and a 196% down from the $764 million raised in the same month last year. However, when discounting the debt financing from the previous year's total investment, the disparity will be reduced to 32%.

UAE makes it to the top once again

UAE-based eyewa and Lean Technologies led the way by securing the largest ticket sizes, raising $100 million and $67.5 million, respectively, helping to push the UAE to the best-funded ecosystem in MENA the second month in a row with $146 million raises across 11 transactions.

Saudi Arabia's startups raised the second highest amount, with 23 startups securing $94 million in funding.

The Egyptian ecosystem ranked third, with eight startups successfully obtaining nearly $16 million, a significant increase from the $1.6 million reported last month. This growth is noteworthy, considering the ongoing geopolitical tensions at the borders of the North African nation, in addition to the persistent decline of its currency.

E-commerce emerges from the ashes

In terms of sector performance, e-commerce took the lead, largely due to eyewa’s significant deal, with seven startups in this space attracting $104 million in funding. This shift pushed fintech, which had been the top choice for investors for four months straight, into second place, garnering $80 million across four startups. The emerging leader of 2024 were software as a service (SaaS) providers, which attracted an investment totalling $21 million across seven funding rounds.

Later stages show up

In November, later stages were seen on MENA’s investment landscape, thanks to eyewa’s Series C round, Lean Technologies’ Series B, and Cipher’s $13.3 million pre-IPO funding. Startups at the Series A stage attracted the majority of investment, securing $23 million through two deals. However, when considering the number of deals, pre-seed startups led the way, amassing approximately $5 million across 16 transactions.

Continuing the trend observed in 2024, the business-to-business (B2B) model emerged last month as the leading recipient of funding, securing 48% of the overall investment. Meanwhile, only $11.5 million was allocated to 12 business-to-consumer (B2C) startups, with the remaining funds distributed among eight startups operating in both domains.

November mirrored the trends observed throughout the year, with a significant portion of investment directed towards startups led by male founders, which constituted 90% of the overall investment. In contrast, female-led startups garnered only $583,000. However, it is noteworthy that startups co-founded by both male and female entrepreneurs secured $22.5 million.

These monthly reports are a collaboration between Wamda and Digital Digest.