Mena startups raised $36 million in September 2023

Mena startups raised $36 million in September 2023

Startups in the Middle East and North Africa raised $36 million in September across 36 deals, a 64 per cent drop in value month-on-month and a decrease of 82 per cent year-on-year. This pushes the total amount raised so far this year to $1.8 billion of which $687 million is from debt financing. In the first nine months of 2022, startups in the region had raised $2.7 billion, of which $455,710,000 was debt financing. 

The pinch in funding is being felt across the entire region, with deal count falling and cheque sizes also diminishing. The largest funding round last month was Fuze’s $14 million Seed round followed by the $5 million raised by Zero Carbon Ventures, both based in the UAE. It was primarily down to these two deals that the UAE was propelled to the top spot in terms of deal value, with its startups raising $27 million across 14 deals. 

In terms of deal value, Saudi Arabia came second with $2.7 million raised across seven deals, while six Egyptian startups raised $2.6 million. Month-on-month, the slowdown in investment in Saudi Arabia has been the most dramatic, with a 95 per cent decline in deal value.