The Q1 2021 United Arab Emirates (UAE) Venture Report is one of MAGNiTT's flagship reports that provides a quarterly update on UAE's technology venture investments, as well as benchmarks startup ecosystems in the MENA region.
UAE Startup Ecosystem in Q1 2021 - Key Highlights
• UAE venture funding showed signs of recovery from the impact of COVID-19, as capital deployed increased since Q4 ‘20 by 72%. Total transactions were lower than the two-year average, as the number of deals in Q1 ‘21 declined by 28% when compared to Q1 ‘20.
• Despite a drop in the number of deals between Q1 ’20 and Q1 ’21, the UAE claimed every fourth VC transaction in the region, ranking first by deal count.
• Fintech ranked first by number of transactions, although dropping to third when ranked by funding. The average ticket size of transactions within this sector was $3.5M.
• E-commerce witnessed a steep YoY drop of 71% in number of deals.
• The top 5 deals closed in the UAE accounted for 67% of all capital deployed in the country in Q1 ’21.
• Less than half (40%) of active investors were headquartered in the UAE itself, while KSA and US-based investors stood at 18% each. This indicated a keen interest from foreign investors in the UAE ecosystem.
What’s In The Report?
This quarterly report provides a comprehensive overview and a deep dive into the UAE venture capital and funding investment space and includes the following:
• A 5-year analysis of UAE venture funding evolution, with a focus on Q1 ‘21 country and industry performance benchmarks
• Top 20 investor ranking, together with the business type and HQ analysis of all investment firms in the region
• Top 10 startup funding rounds that were closed during the analyzed period, as well as the ticket size split of the entire deal flow
• Top 10 last exits in UAE-based startups
Who will benefit from the report?
The UAE Venture Investment Report is ideal for investors tracking startup activity, consultants looking to identify technology innovation trends, as well as government entities searching for investments.
This report was created with data from MAGNiTT, a comprehensive directory of technology innovation trends. The platform provides the following analytics tools:
• Investment directories, a comprehensive list of all startup venture funding across the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey
• Market Sizing Tools to visualize investment growth and trends across industries, geographies, and stage
• Startup Resources including a deal flow tool for applications to leading Venture Capitalists for investment
• Exit comparisons, looking at Mergers & Acquisitions from across the region
Sign-up for a demo to learn more about how our platform can help you make data-driven decisions.
*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.