Funding to Mena start-ups rises 35% in first half of 2020, Magnitt says – The National

Funding to Mena start-ups rises 35% in first half of 2020, Magnitt says – The National

Egypt recorded the most deals, while the UAE received the highest share of funding during the six-month period

















Kitopi, which stands for "Kitchen Operation Innovations“, cooks and delivers to customers on behalf of restaurants. The startup succeeded in raising $60m in the first six months of the year. Courtesy Kitopi







Start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa secured $659 million (Dh2.4 billion) in funding in the first half of the year, up 35 per cent from the same period in 2019, according to data platform Magnitt.



The increase in funding in the first half is largely due to a few startups raising sizeable and high-profile funding rounds before the Covid-19 outbreak, Magnitt's H1 2020 Mena Venture Investment Report said.



Major funding rounds in the first six months of the year included $60m for Dubai's cloud kitchen company Kitopi, $40m for Egyptian health-tech start-up Vezeeta, $150m for Dubai-based Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) and $36.5m for Saudi Arabia's food delivery app Jahez.



The UAE received the largest share of total funding as a result of several later-stage investments, while Egypt still ranks first by number of deals, accounting for 25