MENA Tech Update – Q1 2025

Dive into the MENA venture ecosystem activity for Q1 2025. Historical and international benchmarks, sector trends and biggest rounds.

Key findings

• MENA startups raised $921M in Q1 2025, a 55% increase year on year.
• MENA startups closed 64 rounds of $2M or more in Q1 2025, ahead of every first quarter of the past five years except 2022.
• Fintech drew $550.2M of MENA venture funding in Q1 2025, more than five times the next sector, marketing, at $97.5M.
• Buy Now Pay Later was MENA's top-funded frontier tech segment in Q1 2025 at $166.4M, more than double the $74.1M raised by credit card startups.
• The UAE was MENA's top-funded country in Q1 2025 with $395M of VC investment, ahead of Saudi Arabia at $286M.