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Startups in the MENA region raised $170 million in March, a 6 per cent rise month on month, across 43 deals, according to regional venture capital firm, Wamda.
This takes the total amount raised in the first quarter of this year to $396 million across 125 deals, Wamda said on its website.
The UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia accounted for the for the bulk of investment deals and value in the first quarter of 2021, “These three countries continue to dominate in terms of startup and investment activity and with two new funds launched in Egypt this year, we can expect even more from the region’s most populous country,” Wamda said.
In terms of amount invested in March, the UAE topped with $130 million invested in 11 startups. This was primarily down to two companies, agritech Pure Harvest ($50 million) and last mile delivery, Lyve ($35 million).
Flat6Labs’ latest cohort in Cairo helped push Egypt’s investment rounds to 18 while 11 of Saudi Arabia’s startups raised $30 million in total.
Fintech attracted the highest number of deals with 10, Wamda said.
During 2020, MENA startups received $1.03 billion in funds. The funds, which were granted to about 496 deals, showed a 13 percent increase compared to the financing granted in the previous year, according to an earlier report by startup data platform MAGNiTT.
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)
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