With the release of our Q1 2023 MENA Venture Investment Report, we take a look at the ongoing impact of the global economic downturn alongside the tighter funding conditions on the MENA VC ecosystem.
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While data in global markets started accounting for the perturbations due to the stock market crash, the Russia-Ukraine war, the supply chain limitations, rising inflation, and higher interest rates, consequently raising the cost of capital in the first quarter of last year, the MENA region started reflecting the retreat in the second quarter of 2022 mainly due to the lag of deal announcement and delayed data sharing in the region. Since then, the VC market has been merely volatile.
The overall cautious economic climate extended its impact to the first quarter of 2023 accompanied by additional doubts due to the failure of banks directly linked to the startup ecosystem. This weighed down further on the performance of global VC markets funneling down the impact to the MENA region.
Looking at the different geographies of the MENA region, the acknowledged decline in the regional number of deals was confirmed with eight of the top ten countries by deals reporting double-digit declines. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which shared the first spot with 30 deals each recorded a 50% and 33% YoY respectively in the first quarter of 2023.
At another level, the prevalent rise in interest rates along with cash conservation imperatives weighing heavily on funding resources are keeping acquisitions and consolidations as options to resort to when funding rounds fall short. The first quarter of this year recorded 11 exits in the MENA region, ten of which were for UAE-based startups. The region saw an interesting cross-pollination M&A activity as most of the acquirers were spread across geographies outside the MENA region, including India, Turkey, Portugal, France, and the United Kingdom.
What’s In The Report?
The latest quarterly report offers strategic insights into the region/country's performance. This report covers a 5-year analysis of the region/country's venture funding evolution, with a specific focus on the country comparison and industry performance in 2023. You will get access to precious information such as:
MENA Venture Funding Evolution: Get a detailed analysis of the past five years, highlighting the growth and development of venture funding in MENA with a focus on the performance in 2023.
Key rankings such as the Top 20 investors, Top 20 funding rounds, Top 10 last exits, and 5-Year exit evolution of the region.
Who is it for?
Whether you’re a private investor, a VC, an investment company, a CVC, or working in corporate, this report gives an overview of the ecosystem and caters to a diverse audience including any curious minds who want to use the yearly, quarterly and monthly charts in this report to track investment activity.
You can also see in which country and industry the investment activity focused in terms of deals and capital deployed, allowing you to leverage insights and make wise choices.
The report can also be used by consultants looking to identify technology innovation trends and who will find it valuable to look at the evolution of M&A activity and concentration of acquirers/acquired startups.
Last but not least, government entities searching for investment opportunities will also find valuable information to make informed decisions.
Where is this information from?
The report was 100% created using data from MAGNiTT. MAGNiTT is the leading VC verified data platform and offers a comprehensive directory of technology innovation trends. Our unique SaaS solution includes investment directories listing startup venture funding across the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey, and now Singapore. By using MAGNiTT, you will also get access to market sizing tools to visualize investment growth and trends across various industries, geographies, and stages, as well as comparison tools for benchmarking geographies, industries, and investor performance. Furthermore, MAGNiTT offers exit comparisons by examining mergers and acquisitions.
Learn more about MAGNiTT's Data Methodology.
*This report aggregates and analyses tech startup investments in 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa - listed alphabetically: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (KSA), Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen.