The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region witnessed a total investment of $2.88 billion in 2021, according to a recent market report.
Published by market intelligence firm Digital Digest and event and program organizer Arabnet, the report claimed the value of early-stage deals for startups in the region doubled.
The report, titled The State of Digital Investments in MENA 2019-2021, said startups based in the UAE attracted the highest value and number of investment deals in 2021.
Saudi Arabia continued to hold the second position in value of deals, it said, followed by Egypt and Jordan.
The value of investment deals grew across all early-stage funding rounds by at least 2x, said the report.
The past year also saw the highest number of deals with participation from global investors, said the report.
“The overall value of deals in 2021 grew 3.7 times from 2020, fueled by the growth in technology adoption in the business sectors, as well as more proactive legislation in Saudi, the UAE, and Egypt,” said Racha Ghamlouch, cofounder of Digital Digest.
“It is now more common to see investment deals over $10 million even at a seed stage, and even more common to raise from global investors at every stage of the startup lifecycle,” she added.
Between 2020 and 2021, the number of global investors putting their money in the MENA region has “more than doubled,” said Omar Christidis, founder & CEO of Arabnet.
The report also noted that the participation of global investors increased significantly as startups matured, “from 5 percent during the acceleration stage to 83 percent during Series C,” he added.