Startups in the UAE secured $68 million (AED 249.77 million) in funding in December 2021 through 11 companies, representing 33% of the total amount of funding granted in the Middle East.
A report from the Wamda platform, which specializes in monitoring investments in startups, showed today, Thursday, that startups in the Middle East and North Africa raised $ 206 million in December through 44 deals, a decrease of 27.5% on a monthly basis, but an increase of 215% on an annual basis..
The vast majority of VC investments were concentrated in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, and these countries together accounted for more than 88% of the total financing activity this month.
Saudi startups received the largest investments with a total value of $99.5 million, followed by the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan with investments of $13 million for each country, then Egypt with $7.8 million.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt attracted the largest number of deals.
Angel Investors
The seed stage deals had the largest share of the financing activity through 31 deals, most of which were led by angel investors and accelerators, especially Sanabel 500, a business accelerator for companies in the start-up stages in the Middle East and North Africa, which has invested in 11 companies across the region.
In terms of the value of the deals, the largest share of the funding was for companies in the growth stage, including the obtaining of $42 million in the first financing round by the Emirati company Oponcia, a startup that empowers entrepreneurs in the field of e-commerce.
Sari Saudi Arabia also obtained $75 million in the third financing round, and Sari is an electronic platform that connects business owners with wholesalers.
Among the other startups that got huge funding this month: Drop Bahraini food technology startup received $13.5 million.
As an application collection Grubtech Emirati food delivery company Tamat received $13 million, while gaming startup Tamatem received $11 million.
Electronic trade
At the level of sectors, the e-commerce sector ranked first in terms of financing thanks to the “Sari” company, which obtained $75 million in the third financing round.
And e-commerce startups attracted $119.5 million through 5 deals, which is 58% of the total deal value.
The food technology sector ranked second in the list of the most funded sectors, receiving 24 million dollars through 4 deals, followed by the financial technology sector, which obtained 19 million dollars through 8 deals..
Nationalities of the investors
Of the 44 deals, 12 have attracted external financing. Investors from the United States participated in nine deals, making them the most active foreign investors in MENA startups, followed by their German counterparts with two deals.
On the regional level, Saudi investors came to the fore, having invested in 23 deals in start-up companies outside Saudi Arabia..
Startups with all-male founders received the largest share of VC investments, generating $197 million through 38 deals, while startups with all-female founders received $3 million, which amounts to 1.5%. Of the total investment, compared to 5% last month.
As for start-ups co-founded by men and women, they received 3% of the investment.
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