MENA region’s 50 most-funded startups attracted $3.2 billion since their inception

MENA region’s 50 most-funded startups attracted $3.2 billion since their inception

CAIRO: The Middle East and North Africa’s 50 most-funded startups attracted a total of $3.2 billion in fundraising since their inception, with 18 companies from the UAE, 12 from Saudi Arabia and 11 from Egypt, according to Forbes. UAE-based startups made most of the list, raising $964 million in total funding, followed by the Kingdom with $946.7 million and Egypt with $508.5 million. Saudi-based startups made five of the top 10 most-funded startups, with financial technology firm Tabby in second, payment app Tamara in third, digital freight network TruKKer in fourth, e-commerce company Sary in seventh and grocery platform Nana in ninth. Startups that qualified for the list had to be no more than seven years old, excluding companies like Saudi Arabia’s fintech Foodics, which raised a total of $198 million, and the UAE’s cloud kitchen Kitopi, which raised $804 million in total funding. Forbes’s list indicated that fintech companies were the most funded, with 21 startups attracting $1.3 billion in total funding, followed by e-commerce, with 10 startups raising $576.7 million and four mobility startups raising $299.6 million. The UAE-based platform for shared spaces Letswork raised $2.1 million in a seed funding round to expand its operations to Saudi