Debt financing pushes December 2023 investment to $1.15 billion

Debt financing pushes December 2023 investment to $1.15 billion

Sixty startups across the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena) raised a mammoth $1.15 billion, the highest amount recorded for the year, representing a staggering 825 per cent increase year on year (YoY) and a 55 per cent increase month on month (MoM). However, $700 million of that alone is down to the debt round raised by UAE-founded, now Saudi Arabia headquartered fintech, Tabby. 

Without this debt, the total amount raised by startups in Mena in December falls to $456 million, a rise of 18 per cent MoM and a 253 per cent rise YoY. 

The total amount raised by startups in 2023 (including debt) totalled $3.9 billion across 469 deals, down only 1 per cent compared to the $3.95 billion raised in 2022 across 802 deals. Discounting the debt rounds however, the difference is more stark. Last year, startups in Mena raised a total of $2.14 billion across 459 deals, compared to the $3.45 billion raised in 2022 across 786 deals, a fall of 38 per cent in terms of deal value and a drop of 42 per cent in terms of transactions. 

The amount of debt raised in 2023 amounted to $1.77 billion, a 256 per cent increase compared to