MENA start-up investments decline 52% to $134 million in October

MENA start-ups raised $134 million across 56 deals in October 2024 marking a 52% decrease month-on-month and a 13% drop from last year. 

That’s according to a new report from Wamda and Digital Digest, which shows that debt financing contributed $28.4m.

UAE start-ups also topped the list, raising $61.8m across 15 deals, followed by Saudi Arabia with $50m over 21 deals. Kuwait ranked third, driven by proptech Sakan’s $12m deal.

Proptech overtakes fintech

In October 2024, Egyptian start-ups faced a significant decline after raising only $1.6m. Meanwhile, new Tunisian and Qatari firms raised $3m and $2.7m, respectively. 

Fintech, which had dominated the MENA funding scene in previous months, dropped to second place, while proptech led with $38m from five deals. Ecommerce and edtech followed with $14.6m and $11m raised. 

Seed-stage start-ups attracted the most investment, securing $40m, while Series A companies raised $20m. In addition, nine start-ups attracted $25.8m without revealing their stage, and 12 pre-seed start-ups raised $15.5m.

B2C model dominates

The business-to-consumer (B2C) model was the dominant funding model last month, attracting $83.8m across 19 start-ups, while business-to-business (B2B) companies raised $42.4m across 27 deals. Start-ups operating both models raised nearly $8m. 

Investment in female-founded firms saw a notable increase, totaling $10.5m over four transactions. However, male-founded start-ups raised $115m across 31 deals, while four companies co-founded by both men and women secured $4m.

You can read the full report here.