Middle East and North Africa
Introduction
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has known a remarkable rise in venture capital activity in the last three years, fostered by a young and tech-savvy population, a large potential market, strong government support, and strengthening links with the rest of the world.
MENA is home to over 5k+ funded startups which raised $6.8B of VC investment in 2022.
The MENA region is also home to 15+ unicorns including household names such as Telegram and Getir amongst others.
Geographical definitions
For the purpose of this guide, the MENA region includes: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Azerbaijan, Libya, Oman, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are considered low VC activity regions, hence details of their respective VC investment is not provided.
Israel is not included as part of the MENA region.
Venture capital investment into MENA exploded in 2021 and 2022, launching the region into a higher echelon.
While investment fell by 10% between 2021 and 2022, amid a global pullback in venture capital, this drop was much less pronounced than global VC (-31%).
Explore all 7K+ funding rounds into MENA here on the platform.
The share of MENA in the Middle East and Africa overall is at its highest in the last 10 years. It has grown 1.8x since 2020, while the combined share of Israel and the rest of Africa has decreased in the last two years.
By stage
Early stage
Access early-stage funding rounds into MENA startups here on the platform.
Breakout stage
Access breakout-stage funding rounds into MENA startups here on the platform.
Scaleup stage
Access scaleup-stage funding rounds into MENA startups here on the platform.
By country
Compare country startup ecosystems within the MENA region and globally here on the app.
By city
Compare city level startup ecosystems within MENA and overseas, here on the platform.
By industry
Food and Fintech have been the most prominent funding categories in MENA since 2020, over-indexing compared to the global average.
Explore funding rounds into MENA by industry here on the Dealroom platform.
Discover below the top industries in MENA in 2024 and in recent years.
By industry segments
See below the most funded segments in 2024 and in recent years.