INSEAD and MAGNiTT launch a report on startup sentiment in MENA

INSEAD and MAGNiTT launch a report on startup sentiment in MENA

Survey reveals 61 percent of founders and 48 percent of investors expect the crisis to end between Q4 '20 & Q1 '21while startups surveyed from Saudi Arabia and later-stage ventures across MENA are the most worried

INSEAD joined forces with MAGNiTT to launch the report from their first startup and VC sentiment survey in early June 2020. The report aims to provide useful reference points as a tool for policy makers in shaping initiatives that can help the start-up community navigate the COVID-19 crisis and plan its aftermath more confidently.

Key findings from the survey, found that startups, particularly late-stage ventures, are more downbeat than investors - with 19 percent being very worried. With a recession following the COVID-19 lockdown and a growing emphasis on the need for digitization, technology ventures are at the forefront of the systemic change that is occurring across the economy. These companies look like they might be the driving force behind the region's digital transformation and its evolution to the new normal.

Across the region, ventures in Saudi Arabia are the most concerned, with the highest worry sentiment index of 3.8/5.0, followed by ventures in Lebanon (3.5). Founders have the most pessimistic outlook on MENA, with 24 percent