According to data from the platform Wamda, startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region attracted a total of $863 million in investments in January 2025.
This represents a significant monthly increase of 210% compared to the previous month, spread across 63 funding rounds.
Overall, Wamda anticipates a positive first quarter for this year, despite the typically slower start to the year. This slowdown is common as investors take time to assess market dynamics, while entrepreneurs refine their pitches and evaluate their company valuations before embarking on fundraising efforts.
However, this optimistic outlook is supported by strong developments in emerging ecosystems, particularly in Qatar and Oman.
In terms of regional distribution of investments in January, Saudi startups dominated, raising a total of $839.5 million across 21 funding rounds, accounting for the majority of allocated funds.
This is largely due to the impact of the LEAP 2025 event, currently underway in Saudi Arabia. This tech conference has attracted investors from around the world, providing visibility to local startups, which secured the lion’s share of funding this month.
Startups in the United Arab Emirates raised $14.6 million across 15 funding rounds. The Egyptian ecosystem followed with a total of $6 million spread across seven deals.
Other countries in the MENA region collectively raised less than $2.5 million. In Tunisia, two deals secured only $510,000.
The fintech sector outperformed all other sectors in January, raising a total of $776.6 million across 11 deals.
In second place, the proptech sector attracted $38.7 million in investments across four startups, while e-commerce followed with five deals totaling $30 million.
In terms of gender distribution, male-founded startups secured the largest share of funding, totaling $795 million across 47 deals.
However, female-led startups attracted $61.6 million, marking notable growth. Additionally, around $5.6 million was invested in startups co-founded by men and women.
