MAGNiTT's MENA Q1 2021 Venture Investment Report revealed that total VC investment reached $288 in MENA, a 60% increase from Q4 ‘20 level.
Earlier this week, we launched our new quarterly country reports that provide a comprehensive update on equity-based VC investments across Emerging Venture Markets (MENA, Turkey, and Pakistan) for the first 3 months of 2021.
These reports have been designed for investors and analysts tracking startup activity, consultants looking to identify tech innovation trends, and government officials benchmarking policy success.
In March alone, $472M of disclosed funding was raised by these EVM startups across 60+ deals. With such significant capital already raised only 3 months into the year and March being a record month for Turkey and MENA, in particular this year, we're highlighting the top 3 funding rounds in the month.
Get more Q1 data on Turkey, Pakistan, and MENA. Stay tuned for our suite of industry-focused Q1 reports next week where you can deep-dive into Fintech, Foodtech, and Transport.
Discover all funding rounds for March in our Funding Rounds Directory
Meet and connect with the 3 EVM startups that raised the highest funding rounds in March:
1. Getir
Founded in 2015, Turkey-based Getir is a technology company that joins the worlds of mobile technology and logistics, providing solutions to the delivery of goods in urban areas. Through its mobile app, it offers an on-demand "ultrafast" delivery service for grocery items, in addition to a courier service for restaurant food deliveries.
Last month, Getir secured its $300M Series C round, just two months after its Series B round. Led by Sequoia Capital and repeat investor Tiger Global, the funds will be used to support its growth in Turkey, the UK, and its rapid expansion strategy into three more European markets in the coming months.
MAGNiTT's Turkey Q1 2021 Venture Investment Report found that the quarter was a record-breaking period for Turkey as total VC funding alone ($650M) surpassed funding raised in FY ’20 ($387M) by 68%. Turkey amassed the largest VC funding by far across all EVM countries.
2. Lyve Global
Lyve is a tech-enabled last-mile logistics digitization platform based in the UAE. It reimagines logistics through advanced and agile solutions and technology innovations that connect organizations and opportunities. Founded in February 2016, Lyve aims to solve the last-mile delivery challenge in MENA that the startup believes has been stoked by the exponential growth in food, e-commerce, and other delivery services in the region over the last five years.
Savola Group led a $35M Series B funding round in Lyve last month and will benefit from Savola's outreach and expertise in retail and food-service space in the MENAT region which will create value for the startup's presence and brand in Saudi Arabia.
The Delivery & Logistics industry in the UAE gathered one-third of total funding in Q1 2021, which is almost triple that of the same period last year.
3. iKcon
iKcon (Innovative Kitchen Concepts) is a UAE-based tech-enabled cloud kitchen operator that procures, cooks, and delivers food on behalf of restaurants and brand owners, utilizing their networks of satellite kitchens in prime locations to quickly bring to market F&B brands from existing chains to new concepts. It provides a kitchen-as-a-service platform, driven by operational excellence and technology, to empower partners to rapidly expand their geographical and customer reach.
The startup announced its $20M Series A fundraise last month, making it one of the highest F&B rounds of the year. The round was led by regional investment groups including Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Group, AlTouq Group, Derayah Ventures, among others, to accelerate KSA & regional expansion plans, and the development of iKcon’s proprietary technology stack.
Did you know that every fourth transaction was closed by a UAE-based startup in Q1? The country ranked 1st with a total of 28 deals in the quarter. Alongside this, every fourth dollar invested went into an F&B startup, making the sector first in the funding ranking in Q1.
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