Mena startups raised $445 million in May 2023

Mena startups raised $445 million in May 2023

May was a bounce-back month for VC activity in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), as venture funding into the region’s startups touched $445 million spread across 39 transactions, compared to $7 million raised across 11 deals reported in the preceding month.

On a year-on-year basis, the deal volume registered a noteworthy increase of 153 per cent, while the deal volume decreased by seven per cent.

Country-wise, the UAE led the pack with $422 million raised across 14 deals, accounting for 90 per cent of the total raised. The funding was largely led by BNLP startup Tabby’s $350 million debt round. Qatar captured the second spot for the first time with $12 million raised by superapp Snoonu, followed by Saudi Arabia with $6 million raised across 15 deals. Taking out Tabby’s debt round, the total amount raised in the region drops to $95 million, with the UAE accounting for $71.6 million of that. 

In terms of deal count, Saudi Arabia topped the charts thanks primarily to the graduation of seven homegrown startups from the Flat6labs Riyadh accelerator prorgramme. 

In terms of sectors, fintech continues to retain its place as a preferred destination for VC funding, both with and