May represented a bounce-back of sorts for the MENA VC and startup ecosystem, with 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, according to a monthly report in Wamda.
The UAE accounted for 90 per cent of the total raised during the period, but Saudi Arabia saw the most total investments into deals with 15.
Saudi Arabia topped the charts thanks primarily to the graduation of seven homegrown startups from the Flat6labs Riyadh accelerator prorgram, headed by Riyadh-based venture capitalist Eyad Albayouk.
The funding was largely led by BNPL 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, according to Wamda.
