The MENA region has achieved $2.6 billion in venture capital (VC) funding in 2021, marking a record high for the region, according to MAGNiTT’s 2022 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Venture Report.
The report, which provides a yearly update on the venture capital and start-up ecosystems in the MENA region, also noted that VC funding increased more than 138 percent in 2021, compared to 2020.
Three mega deals – each of more than $100 million closed across MENA in 2021 – accounted for 26 percent of the $2.5 billion raised in the region. For instance, Saudi Arabia saw Unifonic close the first ever mega deal in the country in 2021.
The total number of registered transactions recovered from a slight dip in 2020 to touch an all-time high of 590 deals in 2021, the report revealed.
UAE start-ups accounted for 26 percent of all deals closed across the MENA region, and 45 percent of all funding raised across the region in 2021.
In total, the MENA region witnessed a record-high number of 35 start-ups announce exits in 2021.
While fintech start-ups closed more than 100 deals in 2021, the fintech and e-commerce sectors together closed a third of all deals (33 percent) across the region.
The evident shift towards late-stage deals was further solidified in 2021.
MENA’s three most active markets, the UAE, KSA and Egypt, all saw a mega deals with rounds of more than a $100 million each. Both the average and median round sizes were at their highest levels yet across MENA in 2021.
The MAGNiTT’s 2022 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Venture Report provides a comprehensive overview and a deep dive into the Middle East and North Africa venture capital and funding investment space.
It also includes a five-year analysis of MENA venture funding evolution, with a focus on 2021 country and industry performance benchmarks.
It highlights the top 20 investor rankings, together with the business type and HQ analysis of all investment firms in the region; the top 20 start-up funding rounds that were closed during the analysed period, as well as the ticket size split of the entire deal flow; the top 30 last exits in MENA-based start-ups, and more.
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